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Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 181 



SpriPsi ^' ^descriptive Geology, 103 
emeries ^Q^ Underground Waters, 61 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED STATP:S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, Director 






GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES 



OF 



OWENS VALLEY. CALIFORNIA 



AVILLIS T. LEE 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1906 



o^ 






CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Introduction 5 

Geography 5 

Topography 5 . 

General relations 5 

Altitudes and slopes 5 

Drainage 6 

Owens River 6 

Mono Lake drainage 6 

Geology 6 

Stratigraphy 6 

Pre-Tertiary rocks 6 

Tertiary sediments 6 

Quaternary sediments 7 

Volcanic features 7 

Coso district 7 

Big Pine district 8 

Long Valley district 8 

Hot springs 8 

Mud geysers 9 

Structural geology - 9 

History of the origin and development of the valley 10 

General statement 10 

Post-Tertiary uplift 10 

Late Quaternary movements 11 

Effects of Owens Valley earthquake 12 

Underground waters 12 

Artesian conditions 12 

General statement 12 

Well records 13 

Inyo Development Company 13 

Olanche 13 

Dodge Brothers' well 13 

Spear's well 13 

Wrinkle's well 13 

Roeper's well 13 

Well near Black Rock Spring 13 

Coe's wells 13 

Bishop 13 

Longley 's well 14 

Minor wells 14 

Flowing area 14 

Nonflowing area 14 

Utilization of underground waters 14 

Pumping plants 14 

Power plants 15 

3 



4 CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Reservoir site 15 

Effect of seismic disturbances 16 

Structural materials 16 

Building stone 16 

Material for cement 16 

Climate 17 

Rainfall 17 

Evaporation 19 

Rate at Owens Lake 19 

Rate at Bishop 20 

Temperature 20 

Undrained lakes as registers of climate 20 

Owens Lake 20 

Physical character 20 

Chemical character 21 

Mono Lake 23 

Physical character 23 

Chemical character 23 

Discussion 23 

Conclusion 24 

Resume 25 

Index 27 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page. 

Plate I. Map of Owens Valley region 6 

IL A, View of Owens Valley and the Sierra Nevada near Big Pine; B, East- 
ern face of Mount Whitney 8 

III. A, Western face of the W^hite Mountains near Alvord station; B, Granite 

bowlders of the alluvial slope at base of High Sierra near Big Pine 10 

IV. View from " the Meadow " on the eastern slope of Mount Whitney 12 

V. ^, Panum Crater near Mono Lake; B, Crooked Creek near Long Valley 

dam site 16 

VI. ^, Crest of the High Sierra at Mammoth Mountain, B, Western lobe of 

Lyell Glacier 24 



GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF 
OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 



By Willis T. Lee. 



INTRODUCTION. 

This report is the result of field studies made during the season of 1904 under the direc- 
tion of Mr. N. H. Darton. The region considered includes Owens Valley, part of Mono Lake 
and Salt Wells valleys, and the slopes of the adjoining mountain ranges. A description of 
the geologic formations and structure is presented, with special reference to their bearing 
on the prospects for underground water. A general account of the surface waters also is 
given, with a discussion of the conditions likely to influence the storage of water in a region 
of recent seismic disturbances. Economic products in the nature of building materials are 
briefly described, and the effect of the present irrigation on the total water supply of Owens 
Valley is pointed out. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

General relations. — Owens Valley is located in east-central California, between the Sierra 
Nevada on the west and the W^hite Mountains or Inyo Range on the east (see PI. I), and 
includes the area drained by Owens River and its tributaries. It contains two smaller 
topographic depressions, Long and Round valleys. Owens Valley is the westernmost of 
the desiccated valleys of the Great Basin region and differs from the others in that it has 
an abundant water supply, derived mainly from the melting snows on the high mountains 
to the west. It is an undrained basin, the lowest part of which is occupied by a large 
salt lake. 

Altitudes and slopes. — The floor to the valley has an average elevation of 3,700 feet, with a 
uniform gradient between Keeler and Bishop of 7 feet to the mile. The altitude, accord- 
ing to railway surveys, is 3,607 feet at Keeler, 3,661 feet at Lone Pine, 3,721 feet at Inde- 
pendence, and 4,107 feet at Bishop. North of Bishop the grade of the river is much steeper. 
Mono Lake is 55 miles from Bishop and the difference in elevation is 2,623 feet. The general 
altitude of the Sierra Nevada west of Owens Valley is about 12,500 feet, but several peaks 
of the range rise to elevations varying from 12,500 to nearly 15,000 feet; these are Mounts 
Whitney (see PL II, B), Williamson, Ritter, Lyell (see PI. VI, A), and others. The rugged 
character of the range is illustrated in PI. II, A. Between Owens Lake, the lowest point in 
the valley, and Mount Whitney, the highest peak of the Sierra Nevada, the difference in alti- 
tude is about 11,300 feet, but there are other places much nearer together where differences 
nearly as great occur. 

The maximum elevation of the White Mountains is reached in White Mountain Peak, 
which is 11,321 feet high. To the south the average altitude is about 10,000 feet. The 
western side of the White Mountains, which faces Owens Valley, is a steep though regular 
slope, as shown in PI. Ill, B, but it is much less deeply dissected by erosion than the eastern 
face of the Sierra Nevada. The Coso Mountains comprise the southern part of the White 
Mountains, but they are separated from the Mountains on the north by a low pass east of 
Owens Lake. 

5 



b GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 

DRAINAGE. 

Owens River. — The principal drainage in this region is into Owens River, a main stream 
with a large number of important tributaries entering mainly from the west, those from the 
east being intermittent. The waters of Owens River empty into Owens Lake, from which 
they escape only by evaporation. There is a heavy precipitation on the western side of 
Owens Valley, resulting from the great elevation of the Sierra Nevada, The moisture- 
laden winds from the west lose much of their moisture in passing over this high range, and as 
a consequence the rainfall is very light in the main part of Owens Valley and the districts 
farther east. From the headwaters of Owens River, at Mount Lyell, southward to Mount 
Whitney, numerous streams enter the valley from the Sierra Nevada, as shown in PI. I. 
The largest of these are South Branch, Rock, Pine, Bishop, Coyote, Big Pine, Tinemaha, 
Taboose, Oak, Shepherd, and Lone Pine creeks. South of Mount Whitney the tributaries are 
smaller and intermittent, because of the small amount of snow on the summit of the range. 
Owing to the steepness of the mountain slopes on the west, the streams are torrential in 
character, flowing through deep, narrow gorges on the higher slopes and emerging lower 
down onto detrital cones which the}^ have deposited. Some of the smaller streams sink in 
the detrital material and the larger ones reach the river with greatly diminished volume. 

The present form of the Owens River system (see PI. I) is due largely to the change of 
climate in recent geologic time. Throughout a part at least of Quaternary time Owens 
River flowed southward through Salt Wells Valley, and the portion of Owens Valley north 
of Bishop probably contained a flowing stream. During the changes toward greater aridity 
of climate which took place later, the water supply was cut off from the upper part of 
Owens River and one of its main tributaries was left as the head of the stream. At the time 
evaporation in the valley equaled or exceeded the inflow, that part of the river south of 
Owens Lake ceased to flow, and the tributaries from the White Mountains became dry from 
lack of sufficient rainfall, if, indeed, they ever had been permanent streams. The result is a 
river system of considerable size truncated at both ends and modified on the east side, with 
only its middle portion still active. 

Mono Lake drainage. — There are several short mountain streams in the northern part of. 
the district which empty into Mono Lake. Rush Creek, the largest of these, is a stream of 
considerable size. It derives its waters principally from melting snows high on the slopes 
of the Sierra Nevada near Mount Lyell. (See PI. VI, A). Mono Lake is similar to Owens 
Lake both in its physical character and in the chemical composition of its waters. 
The two lakes are nearly the same in size. Mono having an area of about 85 square miles 
and Owens about 75 square miles. Both are located at the eastern base of the Sierra 
Nevada and, although about 125 miles apart, both derive their water supply from the vicin- 
ity of Mount Lyell. Mono Lake, however, lies at an elevation about 3,000 feet higher 
than Owens Lake. Neither lake has an outlet. 

GEOLOGY. 
STRATIGRAPHY. 

PRE-TERTIARY ROCKS. 

The older rocks appearing at the surface in the Owens Valley region consist of granite 
and more or less metamorphosed sediments, which are of Algonkian, Paleozoic, and Meso- 
zoic age. The rocks are nearly impervious and, as they outcrop in a region of practically 
no rainfall, they probably do not contain much water. They form an impervious basin, 
however, for the water-bearing sands and gravels. 

TERTIARY SEDIMENTS. 

Deposits of sand, gravel, and clay of supposed Tertiary age occur at two localities in the 
Owens Valley region, one south of Owens Lake, between the (\)so Mountains and the Sierra 
Nevada, and the other in the Waucobi embayment east of Alvord. In the area south of 




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MAP OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 



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STRATIGRAPHY. 7 

Owens Lake the beds consist of partly consolidated deposits of sand, gravel, and clay, 
which attain a thickness of at least 1,500 feet and possibly more. These deposits have 
been referred to the Pliocene by Fairbanks a. Near Haway Meadows, where at least 500 
feet of this formation have been removed by erosion, a boring 1,028 feet deep did not pass 
through it. 

The so-called Tertiary deposits occurring in the Waucobi embayment, east of Alvord, 
extend westward into Owens Valley, passing beneath the late Quaternary deposits of the 
valley floor. The strata consist of fine limy, sandy, and clayey beds with layers of con- 
glomerate, th6 whole series being covered by wash brought down from the mountains. 
Near the mountains the deposits consist of coarse material which changes toward the valley 
to finer sediments. This formation has been described by Walcottb as a lake deposit of 
late Pliocene or Quaternary age, and the fresh-water shells, abundant in some beds, are con- 
sidered by W. H, Dalle to be of Pleistocene age. 

QUATERNARY SEDIMENTS. 

The Quaternary deposits in Owens Valley consist mainly of clay, volcanic ash, sand, 
and gravel laid down in successive layers which have a thickness of at least 465 feet beneath 
the lake level, as is shown by the record of the well at Keeler, near the eastern edge of 
Owens Lake. Material similar to that penetrated by the Keeler boring is found in terraces 
at an elevation of about 250 feet above the lake. These terraces, having the same eleva- 
tion as the southern outlet of the valley, undoubtedly mark the level of the lake when it 
drained southward through Salt Wells Valley. At that time the lake probably extended 
northward as far as Bishop. In these terraces and in the material penetrated by the 
Keeler well fresh-water shells occur in considerable abundance. C arinif ex newherryi Jjea, 
and Odonta sp. are the principal forms. These were identified by W. H. Dall, who believes 
that the species were denizens of Owens Lake and of other lakes extending over a wide 
range west of the Rockies. The desiccation of the lakes, with concentration of the alkaline 
salts in their waters, rendered them unsuitable for molluscan life, and the species were 
left only in streams and such lakes as remained fresh, where they are found at the present 
time in greatly diminished numbers. 

Along the base of the mountains on either side of Owens Valley are detrital cones, which 
were brought down in late Quaternary time and are still in process of accumulation. Those 
at the base of the Sierra Nevada have a maximum elevation of about 2,000 feet above the 
river and are connected with each other, forming a continuous slope, while along the base 
of the White Mountains they are smaller and more isolated, and their outlines are better 
preserved. The material in the cones on the White Mountain side of the valley consists 
largely of detritus from sedimentary rocks; along the Sierra Nevada it is composed of 
granitic fragments. Many of the granite blocks are 10 to 15 feet in diameter, and some of 
them occur as far as 5 to 6 miles from the base of the mountains. 

VOlLiCANIC FEATURES. 

The volcanic features of the Owens Valley region consist of crater cones, lava flows, hot 
springs, and mud geysers. The occurrence of the hot springs and mud geysers in this con- 
nection is probably significant. The volcanic deposits are found principally in three 
districts. 

Coso district. — In the Coso Mountains, southeast of Owens Lake, extensive volcanic action 
has taken place and the effects of two distinct periods of eruption are apparent. The older 
flows have been deeply dissected by erosion, while the more recent lavas are not dissected, 
but still retain their original form. These lavas are mainly beyond the border of Owens 
Valley and no special study was made of them. 

a Fairbanks, H. F., Notes on the geology of eastern California: Am, Geologist, vol. 17, 1896, p. 67. 
b Walcott, C. D., The post-PUocene elevation of the Inyo Range: Jour. Geol., vol. 5, No. 4, 1897, pp. 
340-348. 

c Ibid, p. 342. 



8 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 

Big Pine district. — There is a volcanic region near the center of Owens Valley, between 
Independence and Big Pine. The flows of basalt are evidently of very recent origin, overly- 
ing late Quaternary deposits and giving little evidence of weathering. Scoriaceous lava occurs 
in the irregular forms in which it cooled from the molten state, and numerous cinder cones 
contain craters which are more or less perfect. The lava once extended across the valley 
and for a considerable distance up the side of the White Mountains. In the floor of Owens 
Valley the lava sheet is now considerably eroded by the river and covered to some extent by 
alluvium. In the vicinity of Aberdeen the lavas occur near a group of granitic hills, which 
extend for some distance into the lower portion of the valley. (See PI. I.) Flows of vol- 
canic rock extend southward along the base of the Sierra Nevada to a point a few miles 
north of Independence. The extinct volcanic cone known as ''Fish Spring Volcano" (see 
PI. II, A) lies west of Aberdeen and is the largest and possibly the oldest volcanic cone 
in the region. It rises about 2,000 fe^t above Owens Valley and has a well-defined crater 
about 100 feet deep. At the base of the Sierra Nevada, west of Bishop, occur the northern- 
most cinder cones of this district. 

Long Valley district. — The largest district of volcanic rocks within the area described in 
this report extends from the upper end of Round Valley to Mono Lake. In the southern 
part of the district the rock is dark colored and consists mainly of andesitic tuffs and brec- 
cias, which are well exposed in the bluffs of Owens River and Rock Creek, where they form 
bold, cavernous cliffs and rugged slopes. In some places large masses of material are almost 
wholly unconsolidated, while in others the tuff is solidified into resistant rock. The can- 
yons which are cut through the andesite by Owens River and the smaller streams, such as 
Crooked Creek (PI. V, B), are 200 to 300 feet deep, a fact indicative of considerable age. In 
that portion of the district which lies north of Long Valley the surface is more or less covered 
with volcanic products that are believed to be more recent than those farther south. They 
consist of obsidian, pumice, and unconsolidated ash, and are described in detail by Rus- 
sell a in his paper on the Mono Lake region. Beds of ash and scoriaceous rock of this younger 
series were observed as far south as Casa Diablo. Panum Crater (PI. V, A) is probably one 
of the best illustrations of the younger volcanic cones. Russell described this crater as fol- 
lows: ''The rough crags piled in the center of the bowl of lapilli are not of the nature of a 
cone of eruption, as might be supposed from our knowledge of Vesuvius and other similar 
volcanoes, but are ejections of a molten rock of the same character as the neighboring lava 
flows. They are in fact incipient coulees which were congealed before a definite flow in any 
direction had been established." 

The central core of Panum Crater is completely surrounded by a sharp, V-shaped depres- 
sion, the outer rim of which is a circular ridge composed of the volcanic cinders that form 
the outer part of the cone. The core rises to an elevation considerably higher than the cin- 
der rim and is composed of scoria and black volcanic glass. The sides of the core are steep, 
craggy, and more or less broken, giving unmistakable evidence that it was thrust out en 
masse after the formation of the cinder rim and at a time when the material was in a semi- 
plastic condition and yet resistant enough in general to hold the form given to it b}^ the 
throat of the crater. Some of the blocks from the side of the core are elongated, some are 
warped or contorted, and many are scored and grooved on the sides, so that a differential 
motion is plainly indicated. 

Hot springs. — Along the zone in which extinct volcanoes occur there is a series of hot 
springs. Although the temperature of the water in these springs is not necessarily due to 
volcanic heat, their close association with the old volcanoes suggests that the heat may be 
derived from that source. Several of the springs are grouped near the west end of Long 
Valley, where they form a stream of considerable size, known as Hot Creek. One of these 
springs is said to have been an active geyser until a few years ago, when the creek changed 
its course in such a way as to flow over the mouth of the geyser and destroy its intermittent 
action. Hot springs were observed in Owens Valley as far south as the group of volcanic 
cones between Independence and Big Pine. 

a Russell, I. C, Quaternary history of Mono Valley, California: Eighth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, 
pt. J, 1889, pp. 377-389. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 181 PL. II 




.1. VIEW OF OWENS VALLEY AND THE SIERRA NEVADA NEAR BIG PINE. 

Showing a volcanic cone (" Fish Spring " volcano ) in the nniddle-ground and the Sierra Nevada in 

the distance. 




/;. EASTERN FACE OF MOUNT WHITNEY. 

Cliffs in the center are about 3,000 feet high. Western slope of Sierra Nevada is seen in upper left- 
hand corner and a renr.nant of Tertiary slope at the right in the distance. 



STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY. 9 

Mud geysers. — There is a small mud geyser at Casa Diablo, near the west end of Long 
Valley, which is in continuous and violent action. At a number of places in its immediate 
vicinity the steam escapes in small quantities and for a considerable distance from the 
geyser the rock is more or less heated. This suggests either very recent volcanic activity 
or the beginning of future volcanic action. No vent showing signs of recent emption was 
found near this place, and it is possible that the heat accompanies some initial rather than 
closing stage of volcanic activity. On the other hand, the heat may be due to friction or 
crushing caused by faulting. Casa Diablo is near the fault zone at the base of the Sierra 
Nevada, along which in other places there has been recent movement. 

STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY. 

0\i'ens Valley is a V-shaped trough, extending in a nearly straight line from Salt Wells 
\alley northward into Nevada east of Mono Lake. The western side of the trough is the 
granitic escarpment of the Sierra Nevada, a general view of which is given in PI. II, A. 
The eastern side is the less steep face of the White Mountains (see PI. Ill, .4), composed 
principally of sedimentary rocks. The bottom of the trough is filled to an unknown depth 
with Tertiary and Quaternary deposits. From Owens Lake to Bishop, a distance of more 
than 70 miles, the trough, measured from crest to crest of the adjoining mountain ranges, is 
12 to 25 miles wide. North of Bishop it is much wider. 

The geologic structure of the Owens Valley region has been described in part by several 
geologists, mainly in connection with discussions of certain features of the Sierra Nevada. 
Briefly stated, it is assumed that this range is a large block of the earth's crust which in 
comparatively recent geologic time has been faulted and elevated at its eastern margin, with 
westward tilting of its surface. Although no conclusive proof has been presented that the 
eastern face or escarpment of the Sierra Nevada is due to faulting, confirmator}^ evidence has 
been discovered in a number of places. It has been shown by Gilbert a and Diller b that the 
western slope of the Sierra Nevada is a tilted peneplain and that the escarpment on the east 
is presumably due to faulting which accompanied the uplift and tilting of the great block. 
This faulting is indicated by the displacement of gravel deposits at the north end of the 
range as described by Diller, b also by similar movements of gravels near Mono Lake, of lava 
sheets north of Honey Lake, of gravels near Genoa, and of various rocks along the base of 
the Sierra Nevada in Owens Valley, as described by Russell, c Diller,^^ Lindr^ren,^ and 
Whitney,/ respectively. 

Evidence of faulting and block tilting similar to that which affected the Sierra Nevada has 
been found in the White Mountains. Walcott^ has shown that the strata of these moun- 
tains were contorted and strongly folded in comparatively early geologic time, but later the 
range, like the Sierra Nevada, moved as a large crust block. It has also been suggested by 
Walcott^ that the steep eastern escarpment of the White Mountains may be due to faulting, 
while the westward inclination of the lake beds in the Waucobi embayment may be due to a 
tilting of the White Mountain block. 

To the.se indications of faulting in the Owens Valley region may be added those obser\'ed 
by the writer. In the White Mountain face east of Lone Pine strata of Triassic age pass 
beneath the floor of Oweas Valley, with a dip of about 50°. In the Alabama Hills west of 
Lone Pine the same formation is found in a shattered condition and associated with granitic 
rock in a manner clearly indicating displacement by faulting. Southwest of Bishop a small 

a Gilbert. G. K., Science, vol. 1, 1883, pp. 194-195. 

ft Diller, J. S., Tertiary revolution in topography of Pacific coast: Fourteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. 
Survey, pt. 2, 1S94, pp. 408, 432. 

cRu.ssell, I. C, Quaternary hLstory of Moses Valley, ( alifornia: Eighth Ann. Rep. U. S. Geol. Sur- 
vey, pt. 1, 1889, p. 3*22. 

a Diller, J. S., (io)logyof Lassen Peak district: Eighth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 1889, p. 429. 

« Lindgren, W., Age of the auriferous gravels of the Sierra Nevada: Jour. (Jeol., vol. 4, 1896, p. 902. 

/Whitney, J. D., The Owens Valley earth(juake: Overlnnd Monthly, June, 1872. 

g Walcott, C. D., The Appalachian type of folding in the White Mountain Range of Inyo County, Cal.: 
Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., yol. 49, 189'), i)p. 109-174. 

^ Walcott, C. D., The post-Pleistocene elevation of the Inyo Range: Jour. Geol., vol. 5, 1897, pp. 340- 
348. 



10 GEOLOGY A^B WATERS OF OWEISTS VALLEY, CALIFORlSnA. 

exposure of marble occurs, apparently a displaced remnant of the extensive marble and 
limestone formation in the White Mountains, which passes beneath the floor of the valley 
at Independence, with a dip of 80°. There is evidence near Little Lake not only of dis- 
placement by faulting, but also of the rate at which displacement took place. At Little 
Lake, which has an altitude of 3,000 feet, the granite extends across the valley, and at 
Haway Meadows, at an altitude of 3,782 feet, a well bored to a depth of 1,028 feet was still 
in Tertiary sediments. The basin formed by the older rocks is therefore at least 246 foet 
deeper than the granite which forms the lowest part of its rim. How much deeper the 
basin is remains unknown. Its ascertained depth of 246 feet is clearly due to subsidence 
and not to erosion and indicates that the subsidence was more rapid than the down cutting 
of the river. The Tertiary strata at Haway Meadows dip westward at an angle of about 
15° and terminate somewhat abruptly against the granite base of the Sierra Nevada, but it 
was not determined whether they were displaced there by a fault or otherwise. 

HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE VALLEY. 

GENERAL STATEMENT. 

As stated in the introduction, one of the purposes of the present investigation was to deter- 
mine the prospects of successful water storage in this region of recent seismic disturbances. 
If Owens Valley has resulted from the formation and movements of crust blocks, accom- 
panied by faulting, the time at which these movements occurred and the prospects of their 
recurrence must be considered in connection with a project for water storage in this valley. 
In case the crusfal disturbances occurred only in ages long past, a stable condition of the sur- 
face might reasonably be expected; but, on the other hand, if movements have taken place 
recently an unstable condition may exist and earthquakes more or less disastrous to an 
irrigation system are to be expected. For these reasons the following brief history of the 
crustal movements in the Owens Valley region is given. 

Disturbances of great magnitude are known to have occurred in both the Sierra Nevada 
and the\Vliite Mountain regions in pre-Tertiary time, resulting in the formation of mountain 
ranges. These movements obviously were too ancient to affect seriously the question here 
discussed and therefore need not be treated at length. Some time during the Tertiary period, 
however, a series of events began which do affect these questions. The peneplain of the 
western slope of the Sierra Nevada, first recognized by Gilbert ,« has been further described 
by Diller,b who shows that the planation was probably accomplished during Miocene time. 
Gravels deposited upon this peneplain have been elevated, faulted, and tilted. Diller found 
them showing a vertical displacement of about 3,000 feet along the eastern face of the range 
at its north end. Similar displacements were found by Russell c near Mono Lake and by 
Turner d near Tower Peak. At the latter place gravel-covered plateaus occur near the sum- 
mit of the range, close to the escarpment, which Turner explains as parts of the old pene- 
plain raised to its present position after the deposition of the gravels. Parts of the peneplain 
are well preserved at Mammoth Mountain, and its relation to the eastern face of the Sierra 
Nevada is clearly shown in PL VI, B. 

POST-TERTIARY UPLIFT. 

Since the time of King's survey, e observers of the Sierra Nevada region, with few excep- 
tions, have assigned the main uplift to post-Tertiary time. Le Conte,/ in a paper describing 
the geology of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada places the elevation of the moun- 

a Gilbert, G. K., Science, vol. 1, 1883, pp. 194-195. 

fj Diller, J. S., Tertiary revolution in topography of Pacific coast: Fourteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. 
Survey, pt. 2, 1894, pp. 404-111. 

c Russell, I. C, Quartemary history of Mono Valley, Galifornia: Eighth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Sur- 
vey, pt. L, 1889, p. .T22. 

d Turner, II. W., Rocks of Sierra Nevada: J'ourteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survev. pt. 2, 1894, p. 
442. -11- 

e King, Clarence, Rept. U. S. Geol. Explor. 40th Par., vol. 1, 1878. p. 744. 

/ Le ('onte, Joseph, A post-Tertiary elevation of the Sierra Nevaua, shown bv the river beds: Am. 
Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 32, 1880, pp. 1C7-181. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 181 PL. Ill 




A. V^ESTERN FACE OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS NEAR ALVORD STATION. 

Level valley floor In the foreground, and transition slope in the nniddle-ground. Photograph by 

CD. Walcott. 




JJ. GRANITE BOWLDERS OF THE ALLUVIAL SLOPE AT THE BASE OF THE SIERRA 
NEVADA, NEAR BIG PINE. 

Photograph by C. D. Walcott. 



ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE VALLEY. 11 

tail at the close of the Tertiary and suggests that their rise may have boon coincident with 
an K Teasing aridity of chmate in the Basin region and with the beginning of deposition of the 
Quatcnary beds whicli occupy so large an area east of the range, including Owens Valley. 

i he assignment of the uplift to post-Tertiary time has recently l)een confirmed by cer- 
tain observations of Turner. " From a study of the Tertiary gravels and lavas on the west- 
ern face of the Sierra Nevada along Tuohiinnc Kiver, he concludes that the Sierra block has 
been tilted to a notable extent since the close of the Tertiary period. He .shows that the 
grade represented by the Neocene gravels averages 142 feet per mile, while the grade of the 
Tuolumne River is 92 feet per mile. He also points out that the Neocene stream was more 
mature than the present one and presumably flowed at a lower grade. He concludes: 
'A.s.suming that the NetK'cne Tuolunuie had originally a grade as low tus that of the modern 
stream, which is evidently yet a young stream, it is clear that tbe present grade of the Neo- 
cene channel mu.st bave l)een brought about by the differerUial uplift on the east, resulting 
in a t ilting of the range westward." 

It is probable that .some of the phenomena ob-served by the present writer aic in be ex- 
plained by the post-Tertiary uplift. At certain places, e.sjjecially in the vicinity of Mount 
Whitney, isolated and inclined table-lands terminated by nearly perpendicular (liU's, inter- 
rupt the continuity of the general slope of the mountains. Some of these table-lands have 
concave and others convex surfaces. One with a concave surface apjM»ars in the distance 
at the right in PI. H, B. They are found in considerable numln^rs near Mount Whitney at an 
elevation of over 10,000 feet and they do not oc^'ur, so far as observed, below that elevation. 

The HK'k floors of the gorges and circjues .separating the table-lands give abundant evi- 
dence of glaciation. Polished and grooved surfaces and glacial lakes are numerous. PI. IV 
is a view from '* the meadow " on the Mount Whitney trail in one of these gorges. The cliff 
is the .side of one of the table-lands. In this case the table i^ a concave ^nrfac*' of inrwid- 
erable extent and slopes steeply to the east. 

The ancient slope represented by these table-lands is not in harmony with tlie g(>neral 
steep eastern face of the SieiTa Nevada, and obviously it was formed b("foi-e these mountains 
attained their present elevation. On the other hand, the deep gorges and wide cinpies 
separating the table-lands give evidence of extensive erosion after the development of this 
ancient surface. They also indicate glaciation near the close of this period of erosion. 

The succession of events, as inferred from the phenomena above described, is as follows: 
Previous to the last great uplift of the Sierra Nevada the land surface in the vicinity of 
Mount Whitney was one of low relief and gentle slopes. The uplift of the mountains, pre- 
sumably at the close of the Tertiary, was followed by a period of rapid erosion of the now 
precipitous eastern face of the r^nge. Near the close of this period the newly formed val- 
leys (PI. IV) were occupied by glaciers. How long they were thus occupi(»d and whether 
the glaciers were major or minor factors in excavating the valleys are quest icms to which 
no answer is here offered. 

LATE QUATERNARY MOVEMENTS. 

A movement of recent date in the White Mountains (Inyo Range) has hoon descrilxul by 
Walcott^,who shows that a difference in elevation of about '.\\){){) feet has Imh'U effected 
within the range in comparatively recent geologic time. The lake beds of the Waucobi em- 
bayment, which are of late Pliocene or Quaternary age, have been tilted until at their ea.stem 
border they are 3,000 feet higher than at their western border in Owens Valley. Walcott 
suggests that the movement which tilted these Ix^ds occurred in late Quaternary time. This 
opinion is based mainly on the occurrence of a recently formed fault scarp, tbe tnmcation 
of .spurs, and the presence of large .springs along the line of the fault, and the formation of 
pools and bogs on land formerly crossed by wagon roads. Lindgren c has descril)ed a recent 
fault at the base of the Sierra Nevada, near Genoa, where Quaternary deposits have been 



a Turner, IT. W., Post-Tertiary elevation of the Sierra Nevada: Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 13, 
1903, pp. ,540-541. 

b Walcott, C. D., The post- Pleistocene elevation of the Inyo Range: Jour. Geol., vol. 5, 1«97, pp. 
340-348. 

c Lindgren, W., Age of the auriferous gravels of the Sierra Nevada: Jour. Geol., vol. 4, 1896, p. 902. 



12 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 

displaced 40 feet, and evidences of still more recent faulting are found in Owens Valley. 
During the earthquake of 1872, described by Whitney o and later by Gilbert, Russell, and 
others, faulting occurred throughout the valley along the base of the Sierra Nevada. 

EFFECTS OF OWENS VALLEY EARTHQUAKE. 

The more important geologic effects of the earthquake described by Whitney ^ are fissures 
in the soil or rock, alterations of level of the different parts of the valley, either temporary or 
permanent, changes in the water courses, and accumulations of water in depressions formed 
by the earthquake. The author says: 

From Ilaway Meadows to Big Pine Creek we met frequent cracks in the earth, areas of sunken ground, 
depressions partly filled with water, and regions where motions of the surface soil had taken i)lace either 
in a vertical or horizontal direction. The direction of these f.ssures is almost always nearly parallel 
with that of the base of the mountains, although in a few instances they run diagonally across the valley. 
. . . Near Big Pine . . . there is a series of extensive fissures, which may be traced uninterrupt- 
edly for several miles. In one place an area of ground 200 or 300 feet wide has sunk to the depth of 20 
or 30 feet in places, leaving vertical walls on each side, and these depressions have become partly filled 
with water, so that ponds have been formed of no inconsiderable size. One noticed was fully one-third 
of a mile in length, and would have been much larger had not the depression been so situated as to afiord 
partial drainage of the area at one end, so that the basin could not be entirely T.lled. . . . There 
are several places in the valley where fissures in the ground have crossed roads, ditches, and lines of 
fences, and where evidence has been left of an actual moving of the ground horizontally as well as 
vertically. One of these instances of horizontal motion is seen on the road from Bend City to Inde- 
pendence, about 3 miles east of the latter place. Here, according to a careful diagram of the locality 
drawn by Captain Scoones, it appears that the road running east and west has been cut off by a 
fissure 12 feet wide and the westerly portion of it carried 18 feet to the south. The same thing was 
noticed by us at Lone Pine and Big Pine with regard to fences and ditches, the horizontal distance 
through which the ground had been moved varying from 3 to 12 feet. 

The distribution of volcanic vents and hot springs along the supposed fault line at the 
base of the Sierra Nevada escarpment is suggestive of movement along that line in compara- 
tively recent time. To judge from Walcott's description of the Waucobi region, Lindgren's 
description of the Genoa region, and Whitney's description of Owens Valle v, it is not unlikely 
that movements may still be in progress. According to Whitney the earthquake of 1872 
was the most severe and disastrous that had been known on the Pacific coast. The shock 
was felt over the greater part of California and Nevada and southward far into Mexico. The 
area of greatest disturbance and greatest destruction of life and property was in Owens Val- 
ley along a line parallel with the face of the Seirra Nevada. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 
ARTESIAN CONDITIONS. 

GENERAL STATEMENT. 

From the descriptions of the geology and structure it is evident that Owens Valley is a 
well-defined structural basin formed by the older rocks and partly filled with younger sedi- 
ments. These sediments, which were accumulated both as lake deposits and as debris from 
near-by mountain slopes, vary greatly in physical character. Lenticular deposits of sand, 
clay, and gravel occur in the valley fill, and at the sides wedge-shaped nuisses of coarse moun- 
tain wash are probably interbedded with the finer lake deposits. The extent and distribu- 
tion of the various kinds of material composing the valley fill can only be conjectured, since 
the well data obtained are insufficient to establish definite relations between them. 

The outline of the basin, together with such indications of the structure of the fill as could 
be obtained, indicates that the valley is a well-defined artesian basin ; but whether the under- 
ground conditions are such as to produce flowing wells over a considerable portion of the 
basin can not be stated. A number of wells have been sunk in the valley to moderate depths 

"Whitney, J. D., The Owens Valley earthquake: Overland Monthly, June, 1872. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 181 PL. IV 




VIEW FROM "THE MEADOW" ON THE EASTERN SLOPE OF MOUNT WHITNEY. 
Showing precipitous cliffs and the glaciated character of the bottonn of the gorge. 



UNDERGROUND WATERS. 13 

and some of them yield flows. No definite records of these wells have been preserved, and 
all the available well data are insufficient to furnish a thorough knowledge of the under- 
ground conditions. 

WELL RECORDS. 

Inyo Development Company. — A well at Keeler owned by the Inyo Development Company 
is the only one in Owens Valley having a strong artesian flow. It was drilled in 1902, is 465 
feet deep, and penetrates 7 gravel layers, all of which contain water under strong pressure. 
For the upper 190 feet the well is cased with 6-inch pipe, inside of which there is a 4-inch pipe 
extending from the surface to the bottom. The first flow was found at a depth of 85 feet. 
The water flowing from the outer casing enters the bottom of the pipe at a depth of 190 feet 
and is under sufficient pressure to rise 20 feet above the surface. It is too saline for use, as it 
contains large quantities of ''alkali," common salt, calcium carbonate, hydrogen sulphide, 
etc. The water from the 465-foot level is much better, but it is not used for domestic pur- 
poses on account of its large content of hydrogen sulphide. It seems, however, to be com- 
paratively free from ''alkah," salt, and lime, as it has been used satisfactorily for two years in 
the boilers of the soda works. The pressure from the lower horizon lifts the water in a pipe 
35 feet above the surface. Nothing was learned regarding the five other water-bearing hori- 
zons which were encountered. The well flows about 550 gallons per minute, and since the 
casings are not perforated this amount enters only at the bottoms of the two pipes. It is 
evident that a much greater supply could be obtained by using perforated casings, so as to 
admit water from the other five artesian horizons. Both horizons furnishing water contain 
natural gas, which escapes with the water at the surface. A preliminary test indicated that 
the well yields about 1 cubic foot of gas per second. It has satisfactory illuminating proper- 
ties and might be used to advantage if obtained in suflSciently large quantities. 

Olanche. — A well near Olanche 80 feet deep failed to obtain artesian water. The material 
penetrated in this boring was largely granite wash and sand. 

Dodge Brothers^ well. — The Dodge Brothers have made three attempts to obtain artesian 
water near Lone Pine. The deepest boring went down 160 feet. In each case the attempt 
failed, probably in large measure on account of the use of unsuitable machinery. 

Spear's well. — A well at Lone Pine, owned by Mr. R. C. Spear, has a depth of 184 feet 
No coarse gravel or bowlders were found, and the boring was stopped by hard rock which 
the drill could not penetrate. No water was struck under pressure suflftcient to yield a flow. 

WrinTde^s well. — About 6 miles north of Lone Pine a well on Wrinkle's ranch, 80 feet 
deep, yields a slight flow. 

Roeper's vjell. — Mr. J. C. Roeper has a 7-inch well 250 feet deep on his farm in sec. 30, 
T. 14 S., R. 36 E. Several horizons were encountered with water under sufficient pressure 
to cause a slight flow. Since its construction the well has practically ceased to flow and 
now yields scarcely enough water for domestic use. 

Well near Black Rock Spring. — A well about 10 miles north of Independence was bored 
to a depth of 180 feet. Nothing except detrital material was encountered. Water was 
found from a depth of 5 feet downward, but it was not under hydrostatic pressure. 

Coe's vjells. — Three wells have been bored by Mr. J. H. Coe. The first, in sec. 3, T. 9 S., 
R. 34 E., is a 5-inch well, 160 feet deep. Three water-bearing strata were found, separated 
by layers of blue clay, but no water was obtained under pressure sufficient to produce a 
flow. The second well, in sec. 4, T. 9 S., R. 34 E., is 175 feet deep. In this well several gravel 
strata were encountered containing water under some pressure, but yielding no flow. The 
third well, in sec. 26, T. 9 S., R. 34 E., is 180 feet deep. The material penetrated consists 
of alternating layers of gravel and clay. Water rose a short distance in this well. 

Bishop. — There are two small flowing wells at Bishop, but no record of them could be 
obtained. They are drilled wells and are said to be about 200 feet in depth. The yield is 
only a few gallons per minute and the pressure is less than 3 pounds. Had the location 
been on ground a few feet higher the water would not have flowed. On the other hand, a 
well on lower ground might strike a larger flow. 



14 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 

Longley's well. — Mr. A. W. Longley has a well about 6 miles west of Bishop, in Round 
Valley. It is 401 feet deep and is nonflowing, but it supplies by pumping all the water 
desired. 

Minor ivells. — In addition to the wells already described there are several places in the 
valley w^here pipes driven 20 to 30 feet yield flowing water. While the water in these 
wells, as well as in those at Bishop, is under more or less hydrostatic pressure, this pressure 
is so slight that the wells are of small value. 

FLOWING AREA. 

From a consideration of the wells just described it is evident that the only place within 
Owens Valley where conditions of flow worthy of note are now kno\\Ti to exist is at Ke^ler.o 
Considered as a whole, however, the valley is an artesian basin in the sense that underground 
water exists in it under more or less hydrostatic pressure; but the basin is small and the 
catchment area is practically limited to the space between the confining mountains. No 
considerable volume of artesian water from a catchment area outside of the valley proper 
enters Owens Valley. The outcrops of sedimentary formations to the east are of small 
extent and in a desert region, while the granite to the west precludes all possibility of any 
notable underflow from that direction. The underground supply therefore is derived 
mainly from the water entering the valley as streams from the Sierra Nevada, which finds 
its way downward through the gravels. Hence any artesian conditions which may exist 
are confined to the narrow limits of the valley floor. 

The flowing wells at Bishop and Keeler, situated, as they are, near the opposite extremities 
of the valley, might suggest that the conditions are favorable for flowing wells throughout 
the valley, but several wells between these two localities have penetrated at least to the 
level of the upper horizon at Keeler without obtaining flows. It is worthy of note in this 
connection that in the Keeler well the lower flow has a greater pressure than the upper, 
the water from the 190-foot level rising 20 feet and that from the 465-foot level 35 feet 
above the surface. It is possible that wells deeper than those which have failed might find 
flowing water throughout the valley. 

There are two possible structures of the valley fill to be considered in connection with the 
subject of artesian conditions. On the one hand it may consist of comparatively uniform 
and continuous layers of alternating pervious and impervious material with moderately 
regular successions throughout the valley. In this case a flowing well at one point, as at 
Keeler, would indicate a reasonable possibility of procuring flowing water at other localities 
similarly situated. On the other hand, the distribution of the per^'ious and impervious 
material may be irregular, in which case isolated bodies of water-bearing sands may occur, 
yielding flowing wells, while a few miles distant very different conditions may prevail. 

NONFLOWING AREA. 

A large amount of water under no hydrostatic pressure occurs throughout Owens Valley. 
All the shallow wells encounter it within a few feet of the surface, and the bored wells, with 
the exception of the few just described, show water without hydrostatic pressure to a depth 
of nearly 200 feet. These wells penetrate layers of sand and gravel separated by layers of 
clay. The absence of hydrostatic pressure, however, indicates that the porous beds may 
be so intimately connected that they virtually form one body of sediment through which 
the water has free communication. 

UTILIZATION OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

PUMPING PLANTS. 

Pumping water for irrigation has received but little attention thus far in Owens Valley. 
No pump, so far as could be learned, has ever been given a trial in the valley, and as there 



a It is possible that the strong (low at Keeler is due in some measure to the pressure of the natural 
gas. The gas escaping with the water lightens the coliniiii in tli«» w oil and helps to raise the water, a 
principle utilized in wells using the ** air lift." 



UNDEKGROUND WATERS. 15 

are no experiments from which inference may be drawn the subject must be considered 
entirely from surface indications. 

Since the valley fill is composed largely of loose detrital material, it has a large capacity 
for holding water, and since the valley is an inclosed basin, with the granite extending 
continuously across it south of Owens Lake, there is little opportunity for water to escape 
through underground passages. As there is a continuous inflow, amounting to about 
395,000 acre-feet per year, and as this inflow passes over loose detrital matter, there is 
large opportunity for water to pass underground. All things considered, Owens Valley 
presents ideal conditions for the accumulation of underground water. Some of the observed 
facts bearing on this subject are as follows: 

There are many places throughout the bottom lands where small swamps and lowlands 
producing swamp vegetation indicate that water is near the surface. The wells through- 
out the valley contain water within a few feet of the surface. The water table on the 
Sierra Nevada side is somewhat steeply inclined, owing to the numerous streams entering the 
valley from those mountains. Cellars were observed with water a foot or more in depth 
and having a distinct current toward the lowlands, which indicates a somewhat rapid rate 
of underflow. There are wells into which water flows in streams from the sides near the 
top and from which it escapes at a lower level. Streams from the mountains diminish in 
volume to a notable extent as they flow over the detrital matter, the smaller ones pass- 
ing completely beneath the surface. In the lava fields north of Independence water 
becomes confined beneath the sheets of lava and issues as large springs. Black Rock 
spring is a good example and is said to yield about 3,500 gallons per minute. Soldier 
spring, a few miles farth'er north, yields about 2, .500 gallons per minute. 

A comparison of the coarse detritus, large water supply, and closed condition of the 
basin of Owens Valley with the conditions in other regions where the underground waters 
have been developed indicates that the pumping of water for irrigation in this valley 
might be made very successful. At present much land is being injured by the misuse of 
water. Small swamps are being developed in many places, especially in the vicinity of 
Bishop, by the diversion of too much water. Lands which were formerly part of the 
unproductive desert have been changed into unhealthy swamps. A system of pumps 
might be so arranged as not only to utilize the underground waters, but to drain the land 
wherever necessary. 

POWER PLANTS. 

Many of the streams entering Owens Valley from the higher portions of the Sierra 
Nevada are of suflBcient volume and gradient to produce a large amount of power. These 
streams are all mountain torrents, and numerous places are available for the establishment 
of power plants at no great distance from the lowlands of the valley. There is no lack 
of available power and no obvious reason why it should not be employed in raising the 
underground waters of the valley for irrigation or used in any other manner desired. 

RESERVOIR SITE. 

Preliminary surveys of Long Valley have been made by the Reclamativ;n Service to 
determine the practicability of converting this depression into a storage reservoir. The 
dam site for this project is at the lower end of Long Valley, where Owens River cuts a 
narrow gorge in the recent volcanic rocks. The surplus water of Owens River impounded 
in this reservoir would be used in reclaiming the desert lands of the lower part of Owens 
Valley. 

Long Valley is a shallow depression about 15 miles long and 8 miles wide nearly sur- 
rounded by volcanic rocks. It may be due in some measure to local subsidence, but is 
more probably due to the deposition of volcanic material as a dam across a portion of an 
older valley. This created a lake in Long Valley, in which were deposited the Quater- 
nary sediments shown on a geologic map of this region by Spurr a This lake was evi- 

a Spurr, J. E., Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 208, 1903, 



16 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 

dently of short duration, for the bcacli liiKvs arc not contiiuious and are noNvhere prominent, 
and the deha deposits formed by the streams which entered the lake are comparatively 
small. 

There was at first some doubt concernin*; the ability of the tuff to hold the water of 
the reservoir, for it is of a soft, sponjjy nature, easily crushed, though not easil\' fractured. 
SubscHjuent tests have shown, however, that the rock is very resistant and sufficiently 
impervious for all required purposes. 

EFFECT OF SEISMIC DISTURBANCES. 

In the west end of Long Valley the largest hot springs of the region are found. The 
mud geyser described on page 9 is also in this vicinity. The most recent volcanic 
craters of the region, of which Panum Crater (Pi. V, ^4) is an example, occur a few miles 
to the north of the s[)rings, and the zone of fa>:lting believed to Ik* at the foot of the Sierra 
Nevada passes near if not actually through Long Valley. It is l)elieved by many geolo- 
gists that a slipping in this fault zone caused the earthquake of 1872, described by Whit- 
ney in the article previously quoted (p 12). There is no reason to suppose that disturb- 
ances of tiiis kind are at an end and that an earthquake similar to the one of 1872, which 
has been recognized as one of the most severe shocks ever experienced in America, should 
not be repeated at any time " A consideration of the surface movements, both temporary 
and p>ermanent, which caused that shock and of the fact that the proposed reservoir loca- 
tion IS near the line of faulting, indicates the possibility that future earthquakes may 
bring serious consequences to any system of water storage in Owens Valley. On the 
other hand, more than a quarter of a century has passed without notable disturbance of 
the region. 

STRUCTURAL MATERIALS. 

BUILDING STONE. 

Granite of excellent quality for building purposes is found throughout the Sierra Nevada 
west of Owens Valley. An exposure of this rock occurs within a few miles of the site of 
the proposed dam The andesitic tuff is also used to some extent in this region as a build- 
ing stone, it is so soft that it may be hewn with an ax, but it is surprisingly resistant to 
strain and to the influence of the weather Exposed cliffs 50 to 150 feet high maintain 
rugged and .sharp outlines. The material often changes within short distances from a soft 
ash to a well-consolidated tuff 

MATERIAL FOR CEMENT. 

When the investigation of the Owens River project was undertaken by the United States 
Reclamation Service, it was suggested by J. B. Lippincott, engineer in charge, that the vol- 
canic ash known to exist in the vicinity of the reservoir site might be mixed with Portland 
cement for u.se in the con.struction of the proposed dam and that this might greatly reduce 
the cost of construction During the course of the investigation, however, it was discov- 
ered that limestone, clay, and a natural cement material also occur in abundance in Owens 
Valley. 

It was found that the volcanic rocks in the vicinity of Long \'allev (see p. 8) are, so 
far as observed, fairly uniform in character. Samples were taken, therefore, at the site 
of the propo.scd dam, in order that tests might be made to gain some knowledge of the 
strength of the abutments and of the cement-making (juahties of the tuff. At the dam 
site the nxk is more resistant and more uniformly consolidated than in some other locali- 
ties, but does not differ in other respects from the less consolidated portions. The tuff has 
not yet been tested for cement making, but some of its physical properties, as ascertained 
by the division of physical and chemical research of the United States Geological Survey, 
are as follows; f> 



oThe San Francisco earthauake occurred after the above paragraph was written. 
tf Data turnistiecl by J . C. Clausen, enpmeer ol the United States Reclamation Service. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 181 PL. V 




A. PANUM CRATER, NEAR MONO LAKE. 

The iim of the crater is composed of loose volcanic cinders and the central core of sonnewhat 
scoriaceous obsidian. 




J:. CROOKED CREEK NEAR LONG VALLEY DAM SITE. 
A gorge carved in ihe volcanic tuffs south of Long Valley. 



RESERVOIR SITE. 



17 



Physical properties of tuff from Long Valley, California. 

Specific gravity, dry 1. 53 

Specific gravity, saturated with water 1.91 

Gain in weight after saturating with water ■ percent.. 24 

Weight per cubic foot dry pounds. . 95. 62 

Weight per cubic foot, saturated with water do 119.37 

The Bureau of Ordnance, Department of the Navy, reports on the crushing strength of 
this rock as follows: Test No. 1 crushed at 2,056 pounds per square inch; test No. 2 crushed 
at 1,725 pounds per square inch. Edward Duryee, of the United States Reclamation Serv- 
ice, reports the specific gravity of the same kind of rock as 2.19. 

Limestones and marble are abundant in Owens Valley, especially on the flanks of the 
White Mountains. Clay is found in the valley floor and in the form of shale and slate on 
the mountain slopes. It is thought that these materials may be found suitable for the 
manufacture of cement. 

In the western bluff of Owens Lake, near the mouth of Cottonwood Creek, occurs a 
stratum of fine material about 8 feet thick^ which seems to be composed of a mixture of 
fine volcanic ash and clay. J. F. Holloway, who owns a ranch near this point, has taken 
some interest in this deposit in the hope that it may prove of value in the construction of 
canals. At his request the material was examined by Mr. Cooper, formerly State miner- 
alogist of California, who states that ^Vith the addition of lime the material would make 
a good Portland cement." The material was also examined for fineness by E. C. Preble of 
Chicago. Of two samples tested by him, 11.9 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively, were 
left on a 100-mesh sieve. He suggests that with the addition of proper quantities of lime 
a good cement could be manufactured. A deposit of this material is shown in PI. V, A. 
Where the blocks fallen from the cliff have been acted on by the lake water, the material 
has been distinctly hardened, owing to the deposition of carbonate of lime, and is notably 
changed in chemical composition. Samples of both the original and the altered material 
were collected, and have been analyzed by Edward Duryee, of the United States Reclama- 
tion Service, as follows: 

Analysis of cement rock from Owens Lake. 





Unaltered 
material. 


Altered 
material. 


Silica 


71.50 
22.02 

2 
2.40 


14 


Oxide of iron and alumina 


5.64 


Carbonate of lime 


74.98 


Carbonate of magnesia . 


4.37 







Commenting on these analyses, Mr. Duryee says: "The analysis of No. 2 [the altered 
material] indicates that the material is suitable for making Portland cement by burning it 
at the proper temperature. If further examination shows the deposit to be extensive and 
uniform in composition and free from insoluble sand, it is a Portland cemen^ rock." 

CLIMATE. 



RAINFALI.. 

Owens Valley is cut ofT from the supply of moisture on the east and south by a long stretch 
of desert and on the west by high mountains. As previously stated the moisture-laden 
winds from the Pacific Ocean lose much of their moisture in passing over the Sierra Nevada 
before reaching the Owens Valley region. The result of these conditions is the heavy pre- 
cipitation near the top of the range, while desert conditions prevail in the valley only a 
few^miles to the east. The available information regarding the rainfall in the valley is con- 
tained in the following tables: 
IRR 181—06 2 



18 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 



Record of precipitation at Bishop Creeic, Inyo County, Cal. '^ 
[Lat., 37° 21'; long., 118° 22'; elevation, 4,450 feet. Authority, Southern Pacific Railroad.] 



Year. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Total. 


1883-84 .. . . 


0.12 






.15 




.69 
.19 


.19 
T. 
T. 
.05 
.09 
.41 


.39 




0.11 


.02 


.15 


.03 



.20 



.16 

T. 

.39 


.14 

.03 

.81 





0.35 
•0 

.05 
1.72 

.35 


1.42 

.10 

.15 
T. 
T. 

.21 

.05 
2.69 

.61 


0.38 

1 


.20 

1.10 
.40 

1.20 

1 

3.52 

2.27 
.49 

1.18 
T. 
.16 
.49 
.11 

1.05 
.17 
.12 


0.62 



1.03 

.65 
1.37 

.10 
4.75 


.10 
1.22 

.30 
1.10 
1.07 

.32 

.05 
1.65 

.49 
4.89 

.07 


0.64 





1.58 
.47 
.50 
.30 

3.70 
.70 

1.12 
.75 
.50 



1.67 
.13 


.01 

1.01 
.55 


0.94 
.67 
.50 


.05 

1.46 


.28 

1.10 
.15 
.09 
.22 
.60 

1.75 
T. 
T. 
.54 
T. 

1.53 


0.05 
.14 
.38 
.35 


.12 








.05 
.29 
.05 


.21 
.64 
.60 
.50 
.61 








0.55 


.30 



2.90 
.25 


T. 
.15 
.03 
.12 
.27 
.02 
.34 

1.29 
.06 





0.35 








2.86 


1884-85 







1.81 


1885-86 


2.28 


1886-87 


3.68 


1887-88 


.35 : 0.20 


3.89 


1888-89 






T. 


.35 

.11 


T. 

T. 


.12 

T. 






4.60 


1889-90 -. 





0.50 


7.13 


1890-91 




1.05 


.03 

T. 


8.60 


1891-92 


5.86 


1892-93 


7.43 


1893-94 


T. 


.23 


2.55 


1894-95 


.21 .07 
.57 .06 
.01 .05 
T. ; .06 


3.83 


1895-96 


2.69 


1896-97 


4.13 


1897-98 


1.69 


1898_99 




T. 


T. 


.05 


.93 
.12 


3.09 


1899-1900 

1900-1901 

1901-2 


3.34 
11.90 
4.48 










19-year mean 


























4.52 































a Water-Sup. and Irr. Paper No. 81, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, p. 426. 

Record of precipitation at Keeler, Inyo County, Cal.f^ 
[Lat., 36° 35'; long., 117° 50'; elevation, 3,622 feet. Authority, Southern Pacific Railroad.] 



Year. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June 


July. 


Aug. 


Total. 


1883-84 
















0.20 
.82 
.40 

1.14 
.12 
.12 
.10 






T. 
.25 
T. 


.05 
.01 

1.25 
T. 




1.60 




.04 
.30 
.06 
.20 
.37 
.56 
T. 
T. 
T. 
.15 
T. 


T. 
.23 
.40 




0.80 
.08 


T. 
.20 
.01 


.30 
T. 


T. 
T. 
T. 




.50 
T. 









.14 

.52 

.17 

. T. 

.06 

1.41 

.11 

T. 

.25 



T. 

.10 


T. 


0.20 
.11 
.08 


.10 
T. 

1.71 


&2.80 


1884-85 








1.08 
.06 
.08 
.93 
.19 
T. 
T. 


T. 
.50 
.14 
T. 


.3,5 






0.25 
.01 
.84 


.56 
.03 
.04 
.81 
T. 




T. 
.15 


T. 
.09 
.50 




0.65 
.08 
.01 

1.68 
.05 
.12 


,11 
.03 






T. 
T. 

1.75 
.45 




0.70 
.36 


.48 
.82 
.56 
.22 
.31 
.54 

1.48 

1.05 
T. 
.25 
T. 
.30 
T. 








0.49 
T. 
.70 
.04 
.42 


.26 
.71 
T. 
.35 
.45 
.10 


.40 
T. 
.75 
T. 



0.14 

.93 
1.21 

T. 

.01 
1 

.19 

.75 

.29 
1.15 


.27 


.45 


.25 

.25 


0.12 

.60 


.30 

.52 

T. 

2.01 

.32 
1.50 

.01 
T. 
T. 

.13 



.16 

1.25 


1.83 


1885-86 


3.11 


1886-87 


9 79 


1887-88 


5.51 


1888-89 


3.31 


1889-90 


3 fiO 


189a-91 


.02 1 5.06 


1891-92 


' 1 S7 


1892-93 


T. 


T. 
1 42 


5.83 


189.3-94 


1.92 


1894-95 . 


2 80 


1895-96 


9 97 


1896-97 


19 1 1 44 


1897-98 



T. 
T. 
.90 
T. 


34 


1898-99 


1 66 


1899- HKX) 

1900-1901 

1901-2 


3.49 
3.19 
2 






18-year mean. 






















2.89 































a Water-Sup. and Irr. Paper No. 81, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, p. 427. 
l> Year incomplete, 



CLIMATE. 



19 



Record of precipitation at Camp Independence, Inyo County, Cal.O' 
fLat., .30° 50'; long., 118° 10'; elevation, 4,598 feet. Authority, United States War Department.] 



Year. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


Jan. 

2.42 



5.46 
.16 
.20 







2.40 

1.73 

1.51 
.76 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. Total. 


1865-6b 









0.65 
2.27 
12.19 
1.17 

1 

4.70 
1.18 
3.40 


.62 





1.63 





1.36 

1.28 
.30 
.40 

1 


.70 






4.76 


.32 




.28 






.87 


.62 
.98 
.09 
.12 


0.16 
.53 
.40 
.11 
.21 


.55 








.59 

.02 
.02 
T. 










b3.23 


1866-67 

1867-68 




0.07 










.10 
.40 
.01 
.16 


0.32 
.32 



0.21 


0.76 
.71 
.36 
.27 


.18 








.69 
.90 
T. 
.10 
.01 







.30 



.01 


.15 


.07 


.11 

T. 


0.01 
.10 
.03 
.35 


.28 


.15 


.19 


T. 
.77 
.12 
T. 


1.15 



.10 



11.43 
19.46 


1868-69 

1869-70 


.74 


1.10 




.80 


.26 


.44 
.14 



.65 




.40 
.60 




3.33 
2.03 


1870-71 


3.08 


1871-72 


.12 7.0t> 


1872-73 


.05 



.56 


T. 
T. 

.51 

.04 


1.03 


1873-74 


7.06 


1874-75 


3.33 


1875-76 


5.27 


1876-77 


2.46 


1891-92 


?>1.65 


1892-93 



T. 
T. 
T. 


.35 



.83 


.23 
.10 


.67 


1.01 
.75 

1.89 
.08 


1.51 

.12 

1.24 


2.91 

.42 

1.18 


8.38 


1893-94 


2.34 


1894-95 


4.48 


1895-96 


&1.58 


1897-98 







.01 
.67 
.05 

1.05 


.16 1 .23 


T. 

.37 
.04 

.01 


T. 
.01 
.08 
.10 
.17 


.11 
.06 
T. 
.32 
.13 


'>,50 


1898-99 


.20 
T. 

.75 





.30 
.01 
.65 


.10 

.85 

1.34 

.22 


.20 
.56 
.13 
.06 


.54 

.31 

2.81 

.04 


T. 

.05 

.64 

1.69 


.02 
.62 
T. 

.17 


.03 
.22 
.36 
.04 


1.54 


1899-1900 

1900-1901 

1901-2 


3.70 
6.51 
4.23 






18-year mean . 








1 
















5.47 










1 



















a Water-Sup. and Irr. Paper No. 81, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, p. 427. 
b Year incomplete. 

These tables show that the precipitation is not only slight but exceedingly variable, the 
yearly totals ranging from a maximum of 19.46 inches to a minimum of 0.34 inch, while the 
average is 4.14 inchss. 

No records are available for the Sierra Nevada region, but the annual precipitation is 
about 50 inches. « The amount of rainfall in the mountainous district is much greater 
than in the valley. This fact is indicated by the condition of the vegetation in the two 
districts. The mountains are covered with a luxuriant forest, characteristic of a well- 
watered region, while m the valley outside of the immediate influence of the streams there 
is only a scant and stunted growth of plants characteristic of the desert region of the Great 
Basin. 

EVAPORATION. 

Rate at Owens LaTce. — The waters entering Owens Lake have no means of escape except 
by evaporation, but these waters have been disappearing for several years and the lake 
itself has greatly decreased in volume. During the last ten years the surface of the lake 
has lowered 16 feet and in 1904 it lowered 2.5 feet. According to measurements furnished 
by J. C. Clausen, of the United States Reclamation Service, the volume of water entering^ 
the valley during one year, August, 1903, to July, 1904, was about 395,000 acre-feet, of 
which 297,000 were diverted for irrigation and 64,000 entered Owens Lake, leaving 34,000 
which presumably joined the underflow. 5 Furthermore, a large though unknown piopor- 

aSee map, Water-Sup. and Irr. Paper No. 81, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, p. 12. 

b The total includes the waters of 18 of the tributary streams, of which occasional measurements were 
made and the discharge estimated. The error is not great, as the discharge of these streams is small 
compared with that of Owens River. The measurements so far as they are available are to be, found in 
the reports of progress of stream measurements, Water-Sup. and Irr. Papers Nos. 100, .'.34, and 177, 
U.S. Geol. Survey. 



20 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 

tion of the water diverted for irrigation must have found its way beneath the surface. This 
water moves slowly toward the lowest part of the basin, where it is eventually lost by 
evaporation either from the land surface to which it is brought by capillary action or from 
the lake. 

Based on the loss from the lake in 1904, the annual rate of evaporation is 3() inches more 
than the total inflow. The 64,000 acre-feet of water entering the lake and lost from its 75 
square miles of evaporating surface add about 16 inches to the annual rate of evaporation. 
Several small streams whose waters were not measured enter the lake and the volume enter- 
ing as underflow, although unknown, must be large. A rate of evaporation sufficient to 
dispose of these unmeasured waters must be added, which makes an annual evaporation of 
considerablv more than 46 inches from the surface of the lake. 

Rate at Bishop. — During 1904 evaporation measurements were carried on at Bishop, Cal., 
by the engineers of the United States Reclamation Service, with the following result: 

Evaporation at Bishop, Cal. 
[Data furnished by R. J. Taylor.] 



Inches. 

January 5-31, 1904 4.09 

Febniary 2. 21 

March 4. 48 

April .- 6.41 

May 11.02 

June 7.88 

July 6. 95 

August 5. 24 



Inches. 

September 3.83 

October 2. 82 

November 1.73 

Decem ber 3.21 

January 1-4, 1905 a 26 



60.13 



TEMPERATURE. 

The temperature of Owens Valley is subject to great and sudden changes, owing to the 
wide differences of altitude within the region. The average temperature is moderate, as is 
shown b}^ the accompan3nng table of mean temperatures. It is not uncommon for killing 
frosts to occur late in the spring, nor is it unusual, on the other hand, for the temperature to 
reach 100° or more during the summer months. 

Monthly mean temperature at Independence, Cal. 
[Data by J. J. McLean^ observer, U. S. Weather Bureau.] 



Years 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


Annual. 


1894 
























38.4 
37.8 




1895 


37.8 
43.2 


45.5 
47.2 


49.2 
44 


57.3 


65.6 


. 71.6 


78 


76 


68.3 


60 


48.3 


58 


1896 




1897 a 






















1898 








62 

59.4 

52 


62.1 

60 

65.8 


74.2 
74.2 
75.4 


80.4 
80.4 
79.4 


80.1 
72.6 
-^2.4 


72 

74.6 

63.5 


60 

55.4 

58.8 


48.2 
49.4 
50.4 


39.7 
43.1 
43.4 




1899 


40.2 
46.6 


46.5 
48.1 


50.5 
54.9 


58.8 


19fK) 


59.2 






Mean . . . 


42 


46.8 


49.6 


57.7 


63.4 


73.8 


79.6 


75.3 


69.6 


58.6 


49.1 


40.5 


58.7 



o Station closed. 



UNDRAINEIJ L.AKE8 AS REGISTERS OF C'l.IMATE. 

OWENS LAKE. 

Physical character. — Owens Lake was originally described^ as having an area of about 
1 10 square miles, with an average depth of 9 feet 10 inches and a density of 1 .051 . The only 



a The total for January, 1905, is 2.05; in order to make the table cover a complete year four thirty-firsts 
of that amount is included with the 1<M)4 measurements. 

b Loew, Oscar, Ann. Kept. U. S. Geog. Surv. W. 100th Mer., 1876, p. 189. Goodyear, VV. A., Eighth Ann. 
Kept. State Mineralogist California, 1888, p. 227. 



CLIMATE. 



21 



known forms of animal life inhabiting the water were infusoria, alkali shrimps {Artemia 
salina), and the larvae of the alkali flies (Ephydra). which developed in great numbers. 
Some of the conditions described by former writers have materially changed in recent 
years. At Keeler, on the eastern shore of Owens Lake, the Inyo Development Company has 
an extensive plant for the extraction of soda from the waters of the lake. This plant has 
been in operation for about twenty years and the lake has been observed from a commercial 
standpoint during that time. Mr. N. Wrinkle, the superintendent of the soda works, has 
kindly furnished the following information. « 

The density of the water has increased to a point where bicarbonate of soda precipitates during the 
winter months without concentration by evaporation. During the past three years -1902 to 1904— 
the surface of the lake has lowered at the rate of 2.5 feet per year, and it has lowered 16 feet since 1894. 
Throughout the ten years previous to this date the lake surface remained practically stationary. P'or- 
merly alkali flies developed in myriads, as described by various writers, but during the present season 
(1904), although the larv?e are as numerous as usual, the flies have failed to appear. 

It has been assumed that the failure of the larvae to develop is due to the increasing 
density of the water. This suggestion is strengthened by the fact that at Mono Lake these 
flies appeared in as great numbers as usual, and were seen by the writer literally blackening 
the sands at the water's edge. The water of Mono Lake is much less saline than that of 
Owens Lake, although it is otherwise similar, as a comparison of the analyses will show. 

It is evident from Goodyear's description b that the decrease in volume of Owens Lake had 
a comparatively recent beginning. He writes concerning his visit in 1870: '^It is certain 
that the water at the time of our visit was higher by at least several feet than it had been 
for some time previously, for at one or two points along the margin of the lake I saw in the 
shallow water near the shore the dead sagebrush still standing where it grew, but entirely 
covered by water." 

Chemical character. — The water of Owens Lake is strongly charged with common salt, 
sodium carbonate, borax, and minor quantities of other salts. Several analyses of the 
water have been made, c 

The earliest analysis, so far as known, was by Professor Phillips, of England, the exact 
date, however, being unknown. It is as follows :d 



Analysis of the water of Owens Lake, California. 



Silicate radicle (SiOa) . 
Organic matter 



Parts per million. 

Sodium (Na) 43, 395 

Potassium (K) 3, 378 

Chlorine (CI) 25, 478 

Sulphate radicle (SO4) 12,929 

Carbonate radicle (CO3) 17, 275 

The following analysis was made by Oscar Loew for the Wheeler Survey. ^ 

Analysis of the water of Owens Lalce, California {1876). 

[Specific gravity 1.051.] 



Parts per million. 

908 

242 



103,605 



Parts per million. 

Sodium (Na) 21, 550 

Potassium (K) 2, 753 

Chlorine (CI) 13, 496 

Sulphate radicle (SO4) 9, 363 

Carbonate radicle (CO3) 13, 240 

Silica (SiO^i) 163 

Lithium (Li) Trace. 

Calcium (Ca) Trace. 



Parts per million. 

Magnesium (Mg) Trace. 

Aluminum (Al) Trace. 

Borate radicle (B4 O7) Trace. 

Phosphate radicle (PO^) Trace. 

Nitrate radicle (NO3) Trace. 

Organic matter Trace. 



60,565 



o. Personal communication. 

6 Goodyear, W. A., Eighth Ann. Rept. State Mineralogist California, 1888, p. 241. 

cThe values are given in various units in the original reports, but have been reduced to parts per 
million and to round numbers in order that comparison may be made more readily. Correction is also 
made for specific gravity. 

dBailey, Gilbert E., Saline deposits of California: Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 24,1902, 
p 95. 

« Ann. Rept. TT. S. Geog. Survey W. 100th Mer., 1876, p. 190. See also Eighth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. 
Survey, pt. 1, 1889, p. 295. 



22 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 



Ten years later another analysis was made by T. M. Chatard, of the United States Geolog- 
ical Surve3\ The sample was taken September 17, 1886.a 

Analysis of the water of Owens Lake, California {1886). 
[Specific gravity, 1.062 at 25°.] 



Silica (Si02) 

Potassium (K) . . . 

Sodium (Na) 

Calcium (Ca) 

Magnesium (Mg) . 

Iron (Fe) 

Aluminum (Al) 



Percent. 


Parts 
per mil- 
lion. 


0.28 


208 


2.13 


1,551 i 


36.96 


26, 887 


.02 


13 




5 
9 


.02 


.03 


12 



Sulphate radicle (SO^) . . 
Borate radicle (B4O7) . . . 
Carbonate radicle (CO;0 

Chlorine (CI) 

Hydrogen (II) 



Percent. 



9.73 

.49 

25.16 

25.09 

.10 



Parts 
per mil- 
lion. 



100.01 



7,080 

346 

18,300 

18, 2.50 

60 

72, 721 



Recently a partial analysis of the water of Owens Lake was made by N. Wrinkle, manager 
of the Inyo Development Company's soda works at Keeler. The sample was taken in July, 
1904. Mr. Wrinkle found the specific gravity to be 1.186 and the percentage of contained 
salts correspondingly great. 

In August, 1905, at the writer's request a complete analysis was made by C. H. Stone, 
of the United States Reclamation Service, as follows: 

Analysis of water from Owens Lake, California (1905). 



[Sample taken August 21. ^ Specific gravity, 1.195.] 

Parts per 

million 
by weight. 
298 



Parts per 

million 
by weight. 
238 



Phosphate radicle (PO4) 

Borate radicle (B4O7) 

H (in HCO3, NaaHPO^, and CaH4(P04)2) 

AS2O3 

NO3 

Rb Trace. 

Cs Trace. 



296 
130 
111 
948 



Silica (Si02) 

Iron and aluminum (FeAl calculated as 

Al) 48 

Calcium (Ca) 34 

Magnesium (Mg) 15 

Potassium (K) 3,448 

Sodium (Na) 81, 176 

Lithium (Li) 57 

Sulphate radicle (SO4) 21, 174 . 

Chlorine (CI) 52, 898 

Carbonate radicle (CO3) 52, 326 

For convenience of comparison the total solids and densities given in the foregoing 
analyses are tabulated below. The first analysis, that of Phillips, does not accord with 
the later ones. The increase in density shown by the others is largely, if not wholly, due 
to the decrease in the volume of the lake caused by rapid evaporation. 

Increase in salinity of Owens Lake, Calif omia. 



Total solids (by addition) 213, 197 

Total solids determined 213, 661 



Date of 
analysis. 


Authority. 


Total solids 
(parts per 
million). 


Specific 
gravity. 


Remarks. 


(?) 


Phillips 


103,605 
60,565 
72,721 






1876 


Loew 


1. 051 
1.062 
1.186 
1.195 




1886 


Chatard 


Volume constant since 1876. 


1904 


Wrinkle 


Volume decreasing since 1894. 

Volume of lake constant for 1 year pre- 


1905 


Stone 


213,660 






vious to sampling. 



a Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 60, 1890, p. 58. 

b For about one year previous to this date the surface of the lake had remained stationary. 



CLIMATE. 



23 



MONO LAKE. 

Physical character. — Mono Lake and its environs have been described by Russell,^ who 
shows that the lake had been increasing in volume for twenty-five years previous to the 
time of his examinati'on, the surface having risen from 15 to 20 feet during that time. 
To aid in future determinations of changes of level a permanent bench mark was placed 
at the water's edge on one of the islands in the lake, the water level at that time (Novem- 
ber 5, 1883) being 6,380 feet above sea level, as determined by vertical angles from Mount 
Conness. 

During the writer's visit to the lake in the summer of 1904 abundant evidence was 
found of a recent rise of the water surface. Dead trees and shrubs of varieties that grow 
only on dry land were seen standing in several feet of water, and a road at the west end of 
the lake, said to have been used only a few years ago, was covered with water about 4 feet 
deep. The island on which the bench mark described by Russell was established was not 
visited by the writer, but at his request William Farrington, a young man living near 
the lake, later visited this island and found that the bench mark had been submerged, 
and no measurement was taken. 

According to determinations of altitude by the United States Geological Survey ?> the 
surface of Mono Lake had an altitude of 6,412 feet on July 27, 1898. In making these 
determinations it was found that the altitude as previously determined was 13 feet too high. 
According to the later determinations, therefore, the lake surface was 19 feet higher in 
1898 than it was in 1883. 

Chemical character. — The water of Mono Lake is similar in composition to that of Owens 
Lake, as is indicated by the following analysis: 

Analysis of the water of Mono LaTce {1882). c 
[Specific gravity, 1.0456 at 15.5°.] 



Silica (Si02) 

Calcium (Ca) 

Magnesium (Mg) . . . 

Potassium (K) 

Sodium (Na) 

Alumina (AI2O3)... 
Ferric oxide (FegOa) 



Per cent 
of total 
solids. 



0.130 
.037 
.103 

1.795 
36. 810 

.005 



Parts per 
million 



67 

20 

53 

924 

19,312 



Sulphate radicle (SO4) 

Chlorine (CI) 

Borate radicle (B4O7) 

Carbonate radicle (CO3) 

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 



Per cent 
of total 
solids. 



12. 480 
22. 630 

.300 
23. 350 

.360 



98 



Parts per 
million. 



6,319 

11,638 

154 

13, 163 

4 



51, 657 



DISCUSSION. 

The statement is sometimes made that a decrease in volume of an undrained lake indi- 
cates a change of climate toward aridity and vice versa. In discussing the fluctuations 
of level of the basin lakes, Mono and Owens lakes among others, Kingd states that the 
influence of irrigation is too slight to be considered. This opinion seems to have been 
too generally accepted, and in the case of Owens Lake it will certainly not hold good. 
According to the measurements previously given (p. 19), 297,000 acre-feet of water were 
spread over about 40,000 acres of land during one year (1903-4), or enough to make an 
average depth of nearly 7.5 feet. Since the annual evaporation from a free water sur- 
face is about 60 inches, it follows that about one-third of the water sinks into the ground. 
The rate of evaporation from irrigated land is not known. Were this rate the same as 



a Russell, I. C, Quaternary history of Mono Valley, California: Eighth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Sur- 
vey, pt. 1, 1889. pp. 269-394. 

ft Gannett, Henry, Dictionary of altitudes: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 274, 1906, p. 110. 

cChatard, T. M. Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 60, 1890, p. 53; Am. Jour. Sci., 3d sen, vol. 36, 1888, 
p. 149. Russell. I. C , Eighth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 1889. p. 293. 

dKing, Clarence, Rept. U. S. Geol. Explor. 40th Par., vol. 1, 1878, p. 525. 



24 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 

from a water surface, about 200,000 acre-feet of water would have been lost by evapora- 
tion from the irrigated land. Of the total quantity of water entering the valley during 
the year 1904 (395,000 acre-feet), 75 per cent was diverted for irrigation and 16 per cent 
entered Owens Lake as surface flow, leaving 9 per cent unaccounted for. If the rate of 
evaporation from irrigated land were the same as that from a water surface, 200,000 acre- 
feet, or 50 per cent of the total inflow, would have been lost from the land, leaving 50 
per cent to be divided between surface flow and underflow, of which 16 per cent is known 
to have been surface flow. 

The misuse of water in Owens Valley makes the loss by evaporation much greater than 
it would be from properly irrigated land. Not all the water diverted for irrigation pur- 
poses is used, but a portion is allowed to spread over uncultivated land. For this reason 
evaporation from the irrigated district is greater than it would otherwise be. The area 
of irrigated land, about 40,000 acres, is comparable in size to that of the lake, about 48,000 
acres. It is evident from the facts stated that the rate of evaporation from the land is 
high and may be little, if any, less than that from a water surface, and that the volume 
lost from the land is comparable to that lost from the lake. 

During 1903-4, when careful measurements were made of all the water entering Owens 
Valley, as described on page 19, there was a loss by evaporation of not only all this water 
(395,000 acre-feet), but an additional amount from the lake represented by a depth of 2.5 
feet over 75 square miles, or 48,0(X) acres — that is, 120,000-acre-feet. Since the valley is an 
undrained basin and water can escape only by evaporation, it is evident that this loss 
during the year was 515,0(X) acre-feet. Had the natural flow of the streams entered the 
lake the rate of evaporation (disregarding evaporation along the stream courses) in order to 
lower the surface of the lake 2.5 feet would have been about 128 inches, for in that case the 
loss would have been from the lake surface alone. Since the actual rate of evaporation has 
been found to be only 60.13 inches at Bishop, the rate of 128 inches from the surface of 
Owens Lake is improbable. 

Again, if only the measured volume of water, 395,000 acre-feet, which would naturally have 
entered the lake be considered, a rate of evaporation of about 98 inches from the lake surface 
would be required in order that the surface might remain stationary. Even this rate is 
greater than can reasonably be assumed, and it follows that the undisturbed flow of the 
streams entering Owens Valley would probably increase the present volume of the lake and 
restore it to its original size, if it would not actually increase that size. 

CONCLUSION. 

Since Mono and Owens lakes are comparable in size, location, and chemical composition, 
and derive their water supply from the same mountain range, it is natural to suppose that a 
change of climate would affect both alike, yet Mono Lake is increasing in volume, while 
Owens Lake is decreasing. The drainage into Mono Lake has never been disturbed to any 
appreciable extent by artificial means, such as irrigation. If a rise or faU of the water level 
of an undrained lake is an adequate indication of climatic change. Mono Lake might show 
such a change, for natural conditions are there practically undisturbed. In this case, how- 
ever, the rise of the water level apparently indicates that the climate has become more humid 
during the last few years. 

The glacier at the summit of Mount Lyell (PI. Vl, A) gives confirmatory evidence that 
an increase rather than a decrease in humidity has occurred in recent years in this vicinity. 
This glacier is the largest of the numerous bodies of snow and ice near the headwaters of 
Owens River and Rush Creek. It drains westward away from Owei^s Valley, but is at the 
summit of the main drainage area of the Owens Valley region. Its form and size have been 
definitely known for about twenty-two years. a The writer i> has previously shown thf.c 

oSee Russell, LC, Existing glaciers of the United States; Fifth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geoi. Survey, 1885, 
p. 315; Quaternary history of Mono Valley, California: Eighth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 
1889, Pis. XXVJI, XXVIIl. 

bLee, W. T., Note on the glacier of Mount Lyell, California: Jour. Geol., vol. 13, 1905, pp. 358-36'J. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 181 PL. VI 




.1. WESTERN LOBE OF LYELL GLACIER. 
This glacier is the largest of the numerous bodies of snow and ice near the headwaters of Owens River. 




li. CREST OF THE HIGH SIERRA AT MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN. 

Showing the precipitous eastern face at the left and parts of the gentler western slope at the right. 
Photograph by J. B. Lippincott.^ 



CONCLUSIOK. 25 

during this time no permanent diminution in the volume of the ice has occurred and that the 
large amounts of snow on the glacier, shown in PL VI, A, indicate a possible increase in 
humidity. 

From the preceding discussion it is evident that the evaporation from irrigated lands in 
Owens Valley is very large and that the decrease in volume of water of Owens Lake is due 
mainly to this cause. The measurements given indicate that if the waters of Owens Val- 
ley were allowed to flow naturally into Owens Lake that lake would probably be increasing 
instead of diminishing in volume, just as Mono Lake is increasing. To judge from present 
knowledge of the two lakes and of Mount Lyell Glacier, it is evident that the popular belief 
in a diminution of rainfall in the vicinity of Owens Valley for the last ten years is not sup- 
ported by the facts, and that if any change of climate is in progress it is toward a more 
humid rather than a more arid climate. 

RESUME. 

Owens Valley is a long, narrow, -shaped trough formed mainly by the deformation of pre- 
Tertiary rocks and partly filled with unconsolidated Tertiary and Quaternary sediments 
originating as lake deposits, river deposits, and mountain wash. The deformation is 
assumed to have occurred in the form of crust-block tilting, Owens Valley representing the 
V-shaped depression between the Sierra Nevada and White Mountain blocks. This assump- 
tion is based on the following facts: A succession of lava flows and volcanic craters of recent 
origin occur along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada throughout the length of Owens 
Valley. Hot springs occur in the same zone from the midst of Owens Valley to Mono Lake, 
and a mud geyser is found at Casa Diablo. Faulting and associated phenomena have been 
observed in many places along the easteril margin of the Sierra Nevada and also east of the 
White Mountains. Confirmatory evidence is found in such topographic forms as the inclined 
peneplain of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, the cliff -like eastern face, the steep 
escarpment east of the White Mountains, and the less steep western face. 

Owens Valley is a barren desert except where it is reclaimed by the use of water entering 
as mountain streams. Abundant rainfall occurs in the Sierra Nevada, yielding for this val- 
ley an annual water supply of about 400,000 acre-feet. As the streams enter the valley they 
pass over unconsolidated detritus, into which much of the water sinks. 

Flowing wells occur in Owens Valley, but the limits of the district in which such wells are 
obtainable are undetermined. 

A large amount of underground water exists without hydrostatic pressure sufficient to pro- 
duce flowing wells, but power for pumping this water can be produced from the mountain 
streams and transmitted to the valley at moderate cost. 

Owens Lake has been decreasing in volume for several years, with a corresponding increase 
in the density of its w^ater. The salinity has reached a point at which the more insoluble 
salts precipitate. The change is probably due to the loss by evaporation of water diverted 
for irrigation and not to an increase in the aridity of the climate, as originally supposed. 

Faulting and crustal movements of considerable magnitude, accompanied by earthquake 
shocks, have taken place in Owens Valley within historic time, and there is no evidence that 
disturbances of this kind are at an end 

The proposed Owens Valley reservoir, being located in the fault zone at the base of the 
Sierra Nevada, would be especially liable to injury from crustal movements. 



INDEX 



Page. 

Aberdeen, lavas near 8 

Artemia salina, occurrence of 21 

Artesian water. See Waters, underground. 

Big Pine, bowlders near, view of 10 

Big Pine district, volcanic features of 8 

Bishop, altitude at 5 

evaporation at 20, 24 

wells at 13, 14 

Bishop Creek, rainfall at 18 

Black Rock Spring, well near 13 

Building stone, character and distribution 

of 16 

Camp Independence, rainfall at 19 

Carir ifex newberryi, occurrence of 7 

Casa Diablo, mud geysers at 7 

Cement materials, character and distribu- 
tion of 16-17 

Cement rock, analyses of 17 

Chatard, T. M., analysis by 22 

Clausen, J . C, water measurements by 19 

Clay, character and distribution of 17 

Climate, description of 17-25 

Coe, J. H., wehs of 13 

Cones, cinder, occurrence of 8 

Cones, detrital, occurrence and description 

of 7 

Cooper, , on cement rock 17 

Coso district, volcanic features of 7 

Coso Mountains, altitude of 5 

Crooked Creek, rocks on 8 

view of 16 

Darton, N. H., work in charge of 5 

Dall, W. H., fossils determined by 7 

Diller, J . S., on structure of Owens Valley. .' 9, 10 

Dodge Brothers, well of 13 

Drainage, description of 6, 25 

Duryee, Edward, on cement rock 17 

Earthquake, effects of 12, 16 

Ephydra, occurrence of 21 

Evaporation, irrigation and, relations of. . . 23-25 

rate of 19-20 

Fairbanks, H. F., on Tertiary rocks 7 

Fish Spring Volcano, description of 8 

Flowing wells, distribution of .' 13-14 

Geography, description of 5-6 

Geologic history, outline of 10-12 

Geology, description of 6-12 

Geysers, mud, description of 9 

Gilbert, G. K., on structure of Owens Valley. 9, 10 

Goodyear, W. A., on Owens Lake 21 

Granite bowlders, view of 10 

Haway Meadows, well at, rocks in 7, 10 

High Sierra, views of 10, 24 



Page. 

Historical geology, outline of 10-12 

Holloway, J. F., ranch of, cement rock near. 17 

Hot Creek, origin of 8 

Hot Springs, description of 8 

Independence, altitude at 5 

lavas near 8 

temperature at 20 

Inyo Development Company, soda plant of . 21 

wells of 13 

Irrigation, evaporation and, relations of . . . 23-25 

Keeler, altitude at 5 

rainfall at 18 

soda-recovery plant at 21 

well at 13, 14 

well at, record of 7 

Lakes, variations in, evidence from 20-25 

See also Owens Lake, Mono Lake. 

Lava flows, occurrence and description of. . 7-8 

Le Conte, Joseph, on Sierra Nevada 10-11 

Limestone, character and distribution of. . . 17 
Lindgren, W., on movements in Sierra 

Nevada 11-12 

on structure of Owens Valley 9, 12 

Little Lake, elevation of 10 

rocks at 10 

Loev/, Oscar, analysis by 21 

Lone Pine, altitude at 5 

wells at 13 

Long V^alley, reservoir site in 15-16 

Long Valley district, volcanic features of. . 8 

Longley, A. W., well of 14 

Lyell, Mount, altitude of 5 

glacier on 24 

view of 24 

McLean, S.i., temperature records by 20 

Mammoth Mountain, peneplain at 10 

view of 24 

Map of Owens Valley 6 

Marble, occurrence of 10, 17 

Materials, structural, description of 16-17 

Mono Lake, drainage to 6, 24 

chemical character of 23 

increase of 23, 24-25 

physical character of 23 

water of, analysis of 23 

Mud geysers, description of 9 

Odonta sp., occurrence of 7 

Olanche, well at 13 

Owens Lake, cement rocK near 17 

chemical character oi 21-22 

drainage to 6 

evaporation at 19, 23-25 

physical character ol 20-21 

27 



28 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Owens Lake, rocks near 6 

shrinkage of, cause of 23-25 

water of, analyses of 21, 22 

Owens River, description of 6 

rocks on 8 

tributaries of 6 

Owens Valley, development of 10-12 

location of 5 

origin of 10 

structure of 9-10, 12 

vicinity of, map of 6 

view of 8, 12 

Panum Crater, description of 8 

view of 16 

Peneplain, character of 10 

Phillips, Professor, analysis by 21 

Power plants, development of *. 15 

Preble, E. C, on cement rock 17 

Precipitation, amount of 6, 17-19 

Pumping plants, character and distribution 

of 14-15 

Quaternary sediments, character and distri- 
bution of 7 

Quaternary time, movements in 11-12 

Rainfall, amount of 6, 17-19 

Reservoir, possible damage to, by earth- 
quakes 16, 25 

site of, description of 15-16 

Ritter, Mount, altitude of 5 

Rock Creek, rocks on 8 

Rocks, descriptions of 6-7 

Roeper, J. C, well of 13 

Rush Creek, description of 6 

Russell, I. C, on Mono Lake region 8, 10 

on Owens Valley region 9 

Sierra Nevada, view of 8 

Soda, extraction of 21 

Spear, R. C, well of 13 

Stone, building, character and distribution 

of 16 



Page. 

Stone, C. H., analysis by 22 

Stratigraphy, description of 6-7 

Structural materials, description of 16-17 

Structure, description of 9-10, 25 

Swamps, development of 15 

Taylor, R. J., evaporation records by 20 

Temperature, records of 20 

Tertiary rocks, character and distribution 

of G-7 

Topography, description of 5 

TufT, cement-making qualities of 16-17 

Turner, II. W., on Sierra Nevada geology' . 11 
Underground waters. See Waters, unoer- 
ground. 

Uplift, occurrence of 10-11 

Volcanic ash, occurrence of 7 

use of 16, 17 

Volcanic features, description of 7-9 

Walcott, C. D., on Inyo Range 11 

on Tertiary rocks 7 

on structure of White Mountains 9 

Water table, depth to 15 

Waters, underground, conditions of 12-13 

development of 13-14, 25 

utilizations of 14-15 

Waucobi embayment, rocks in 6-7 

Wells, descriptions of 13-14 

Wells, flowing, area of 14 

White Mountains, altitude of 5 

structure of 9 

view of 10 

Whitney, J. D., on Owens Valley earthquake 12 

on structure of Owens Valley 9 

Whitney, Mount, altitude of 5 

table-lands near 11 

view of. 8 

Williamson, Mount, altitude of 5 

Wrinkle, N ,, analysis by 22 

on soda-recovery plant 21 

well of , 13 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL 

SURVEY. 

[Water-supply Paper No. 181.] 

The serial publications of the United States Geological Survey consist of (1) Annual 
Reports, (2) Monographs, (3) Professional Papers, (4) Bulletins, (5) Mineral 
Resources, (6) Water-Supply and Irrigation Papers, (7) Topographic Atlas of United 
States — folios and separate sheets thereof, (8) Geologic Atlas of the United States — 
folios thereof. The classes numbered 2, 7, and 8 are sold at cost of publication; the 
others are distributed free. A circular giving complete lists may be had on application. . 

Most of the above publications may be obtained or consulted in the following ways: 

1. A limited number are delivered to the Director of the Survey, from whom they 
may be obtained, free of charge (except classes 2, 7, and 8), on application. 

2. A certain number are delivered to Senators and Representatives in Congress for 
distribution. 

3. Other copies are deposited with the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, 
D. C, from whom they may be had at practically cost. 

4. Copies of all Government publications are furnished to the principal public 
libraries in the large cities throughout the United States, where they may be con- 
sulted by those interested. 

The Professional Papers, Bulletins, and Water-Supply Papers treat of a variety of 
subjects, and the total number issued is large. They have therefore been classified 
into the following series: A, Economic geology; B, Descriptive geology; C, System- 
atic geology and paleontology; D, Petrography and mineralogy; E, Chemistry and 
physics; F, Geography; G, Miscellaneous; H, Forestry; I, Irrigation; J, Water stor- 
age; K, Pumping water; L, Quality of water; M, General hydrographic investiga- 
tions; N, Water power; O, Underground waters; P, Hydrographic progress reports. 
This paper is the hundred and third in Series B and the sixty-first in Series O, the 
complete lists of which follow (PP= Professional Paper; B=Bulletin; WS=Water- 
Supply Paper) : 

SERIES B, DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY. 

B 23. Observations on the junction between the Eastern sandstone and the Keweenaw series on 

Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior, by R. D. Irving and T. C. Chamberlin. 1885. 124 pp., 17 

pis. (Out of stock.) 
B 33. Notes on geology of northern California, by .1. S. Diller. 1886. 23 pp. (Out of stock.) 
B 39. The upper beaches and deltas of Glacial Lake Agassiz, by Warren Upham. 1887. 84 pp., 1 pi. 

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B 40. Changes in river courses in Washington Territory due to glaciation, by Bailey Willis. 1887. 10 

pp., 4 pis. (Out of stock.) 
B 45. The present condition of knowledge of the geology of Texas, by R..T. Hill. 1887. 94 pp. (Out 

of stock.) 
B b'S. The geology of Nantucket, by N. S. Shaler. 1889. 55 pp., 10 pis. (Out of stock.) 
B 57. A geological reconnaissance in southwestern Kansas, by Robert Hay. 1890. 49 pp., 2 pis. 
B 58. The glacial boundary in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, by G. F. 

Wright, with introduction by T. ('. Chamberlin. 1890. 112 pp., 8 pis. (Out of stock.) 
B 67. The relations of the traps of the Newark system in the New Jersey region, by N. H. Darton. 

1890. 82 pp. (Out of stock.) 
B 104. Glaciation of the Yellowstone Valley north of the Park, by W. H. Weed. 1893. 41 pp., 4 pis. 



II SERIES LIST. 

B 108. A geological reconnaissance in central Washington, by I. C. Russell. 1893. 108 pp., 12 pis. 

(Out of stock.) 
B 119. A geological reconnaissance in northwest Wyoming, by G. H. Eldridge. 1894. 72 pp., 4 pis. 
B 137. The geology of the Fori Riley Military Reservation and vicinity, Kansas, by Robert Hay. 1896. 

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B 144. The moraines of the Missouri Coteau and their attendant deposits, by J. E. Todd. 1896. 71 

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B 158. The moraines of southeastern South Dakota Jind their attendant deposits, by J. E. Todd. 1899. 

171 pp., 27 pis. 
B 159. The geology of eastern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, by B. K. Emerson. 1899. 139 pp., 

9 pis. 
B 165. Contributions to the geology of Maine, by H. S. Williams and H. E. Gregory. 1900. 212 pp., 

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WS 70. Geology and water resources of the Patrick and Goshen Hole quadrangles in eastern Wyoming 

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B 199. Geology and water resources of the Snake River Plains of Idaho, by I. C. Russell. 1902. 192 pp., 

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70 pp., 11 pis. 
PP 3. Geology and petrography of Crater Lake National Park, by J. S. Diller and H. B. Patton. 1902. 

167 pp., 19 pis. 
PP 10. Reconnaissance from Fort Hamlin to Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, by way of Dall, Kanuti, Allen, 

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PP 11. Clays of the United States east of the Mississippi River, by Heinrich Ries. 1903. 298 pp., 9 pis. 
PP 12. Geology of the Globe copper district, Arizona, by F. L. Ransome. 1903. 168 pp., 27 pis. 
PP 13. Drainage modifications in southeastern Ohio and adjacent parts of West Virginia and Ken- 
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B 208. Descriptive geology of Nevada south of the fortieth parallel and adjacent portions of California, 

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B 209. Geology of Ascutney Mountain, Vermont, by R. A. Daly. 1903. 122 pp., 7 pis. 
WS 78. Preliminary report on artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by 

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PP 15. Mineral resources of the Mount Wrangell district, Alaska, by W. C. Mendenhall and F. C. 

Schrader. 1903. 71 pp., 10 pis. 
PP 17. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of Nebraska west of the one hundred 

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B 217. Notes on the geology of southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by I. C. Russell. 1903. 

83 pp., 18 pis. 
B 219. The ore deposits of Tonopah, Nevada (preliminary report), by J. E. Spurr. 1903. 31 pp., 1 pi. 
PP 20. A reconnaissance in northern Alaska in 1901, by F. C. Schrader. 1904. 139 pp., 16 pis. 
PP 21. The geology and ore deposits of the Bisbee quadrangle, Arizona, by F. L. Ransome. 1904. 168 

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WS 90. Geology and water resources of part of the lower James River Valley, South Dakota, by J. E. 

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PP 25. The copper deposits of the Encampment district, Wyoming, by A. C. Spencer. 1904. 107 pp., 

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PP 26. P'conomic resources of the northern Black Hills, by J. D. Irving, with contributions byS. F. 

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PP 27. A geological reconnaissance across the Bitterroot Range and Clearwater Mountains in Mon- 
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PP 31. Preliminary report on the geology of the Arbuckle and Wichita mountains in Indian Territory 

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B 235. A geological reconnaissance across the Cascade Range near the forty-ninth parallel, by G. O. 

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B 236. The Porcupine placer district, Alaska, by C. W. Wright. 1904. 35 pp., 10 pis. 
B 237. Igneous rocks of the Highvvood Mountains, Montana, by L. V. Pirsson. 1904. 208 pp., 7 pis. 
B 238. Economic geology of the lola quadrangle, Kansas, by G. I. Adams, Erasmus Haworth, and 

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PP 32. Geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains, by N. H. Darton. 1905. 

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WS 110. Contributions to hydrology of eastern United States, 1904; ]\r. L. Fuller, geologist in charge. 

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B 242. Geology of the Hudson Valley between the Hoosic and the Kinderhook, by T. Nelson Dale. 

1904. 63 pp., 3 i)ls. 



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PP 34. The Delavan lobe of the Lake Michigan glacier of the Wisconsin stage of glaciation and 

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PP 35. Geology of the Perry Basin in southeastern Maine, by G. O. Smith and David White. 1905. 

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B 2+3. Cement materials and industry of the United States, by E. C. Eckel. 1905. 395 pp., 15 pis. 
B 246. Zinc and lead deposits of northeastern Illinois, by H. F. Bain. 1904. 56 pp., 5 pis. 
B 247. The Fairhaven gold placers of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, by F. H. Mofht. 1905. 85 pp., 14 pis. 
B 249. Limestones of southwestern Pennsylvania, by F. G. Clapp. 1905. 52 pp., 7 pis. 
B 250. The petroleum fields of the Pacific coast of Alaska, with an account of the Bering River coal 

deposit, by G. C. Martin. 1905. 65 pp., 7 pis. 
B 251. The gold placers of the Fortymile, Birch Creek, and Fairbanks regions, Alaska, by L. M. 

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WS 118. Geology and water resources of a portion of east-central Washington, by F. C Calkins. 1905. 

96 pp., 4 pis. 
B 252. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of central Oregon, by I. C. Russell. 

1905. 138 pp., 24 pis. 

PP 36. The lead, zinc, and fluorspar deposits of western Kentucky, by E. O. Ulrich and W. S. Tangier 

Smith. 1905. 218 pp., 15 pis. 
PP 38. Economic geology of the Bingham mining district of Utah, by J. M. Boutwell, with a chapter 
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PP 41. The geology of the central Copper River region, Alaska, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 133 pp., 

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B 254. Report of progress in the geological resurvey of the Cripple Creek district, Colorado, by 

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B 255, The fluorspar deposits of southern Illinois, by H. Foster Bain. 1905. 75 pp., 6 pis. 
B 256. Mineral resources of the Elders Ridge quadrangle, Pennsylvania, by R. W. Stone. 1905. 

85 pp., 12 pis. 
B 257. Geology and paleontology of the Judith River beds, by T. W. Stanton and J. B. Hatcher, with 

a chapter on the fossil plants, by F. H. Knowlton. 1905. 174 pp., 19 pis. 
PP 42. Geology of the Tonopah mining district, Nevada, by J. E. Spurr. 1905. 295 pp., 24 pis. 
WS 123. Geology and underground water conditions of the Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico, by 

C. R. Keyes. 1905. 42 pp., 9 pis. 
WS 136. Underground waters of Salt River Valley, Arizona, by W. T. Lee. 1905. 194 pp., 24 pis. 
PP 43. The copper depositsof Clifton-Morenci, Arizona, by Waldemar Lindgren. 1905. 375 pp., 25 pis. 
B265. Geology of the Boulder district, Colorado, by N. M. Fenneman. 1905. 101 pp., 5 pis. 
B 267. The copper deposits of Missouri, by H. F. Bain and E. O. Ulrich. 1905. 52 pp., 1 pi. 
PP 44. Underground water resources of Long Island, New York, by A. C. Veatch, and others. 193 >. 

394 pp., 34 pis. 
WS 148. Geology and water resources of Oklahoma, by C. N. Gould. 1905. 178 pp., 22 pis. 
B 270. The configuration of the rock floor of Greater New York, by W. H. Hobbs. 1905. 96 pp., 5 pis. 
B 272. Taconic physiography, by T. M. Dale, 1905. 52 pp., 14 pis. 
PP 45. The geography and geology of Alaska, a summary of existing knowledge, by A. H. Brooks, 

with a section on climate, by Cleveland Abbe, jr., and a topographic map and description 

thereof, by R. M. Goode. 1905. 327 pp., 34 pis. 
B 273. The drumlins of southeastern Wisconsin (preliminary paper), by W. C. Alden. 1905. 46 pp., 

9 pis. 
PP 46. Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas, by 

A. C. Veatch. 1906. 422 pp., 51 pis. 
PP 49. Geology and mineral resources of part of the Cumberland Gap coal field, Kentucky, by G. H. 

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PP 50. The Montana lobe ot the Keewatin ice sheet, Dy F. H. H Calhoun. 1906. 62 pp., 7 pis. 
B 277. Mineral resources of Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: Gold fields ol the Turnagain Arm region, by 

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WS 154 The geology and water resources of the eastern portion of the Panhandle of Texas, by C. N. 

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B 278. Geology and coal resources of the Cape Lisburne region, Alaska, by A. J. Collier. 1906. 54 

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B 279. Mineral resources of the Kittanning and Rural Valley quadrangles, Pennsylvania, by Charles 

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B 280. The Rampart gold placer region, Alaska, by L. M. Prindle and F. L. Hess. 1906. 54 pp., 7 pis. 
B 282. OH fields of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coastal Plain, by N . M. Fenneman. 1906. 146 pp., 11 pis. 
WS 157. Underground water in the valleys oi Utah Lake and Jordan River, Utah, by G. B. Richardson. 

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PP 51. Geology of the Bighorn Mountains, by N. H. Darton. 1906. 129 pp., 47 pis. 



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WS 158. Preliminary report on the geology and underground waters of the Roswell artesian area, 

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PP 52. Geology and underground waters of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado, by N. H. 

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WS 159. Summary of underground-water resources of Mississippi, by A. F. Crider and L. C. Johnson. 

1906. 86 pp., 6 pis. 
PP 53. Geology and water resources of the Bighorn basin, Wyoming, by Cassius A. Fisher. 1906. 

72 pp., 16 pis. 
B 283. Geology and mineral resources of Mississippi, by A. F. Crider. 1906. 99 pp., 4 pis. 
B 286. Economic geology of the Beaver quadrangle, Pennsylvania (southern Beaver and north- 
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B 287. The Juneau gold belt, Alaska, by A. C. Spencer, and a reconnaissance of Admiralty Island. 

Alaska, by C. W. Wright. 1906. 161 pp., 37 pis. 
PP 54. The geology and gold deposits of the Cripple Creek district, Colorado, by W. Lindgren and 

F. L. Ransome. 1906. — pp.,.29 pis. 
PP 55. Ore deposits of the Silver Peak quadrangle, Nevada, by J. E. Spurr. 1906. — pp., 24 pis. 
B 289. A reconnaissance of the Matanuska coal field, Alaska, in 1905, by G. C. Martin. 1906. 36 pp., 

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WS 164. Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennes.see River and of an adjacent 

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B 293. A reconnaissance of some gold and tin deposits of the southern Appalachians, by L. C. Graton. 

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B 294. Zinc and lead deposits of the upper Mississippi Valley, by H. Foster Bain. 1906. — pp., 16 pis. 
B 295. The Yukon-Tanana region, Alaska, description of Circle quadrangle, by L. M. Prindle. 1906. 

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WS 181. Geology and water resources of Owens Valley, California, by Willis T. Lee. 1906. 28 pp., 
6 pis. 

SERIES O, UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

WS 4. A reconnaissance in southeastern Washington, by I. C. Russell. 1897. 96 pp., 7 pis. (Out of 

stock.) 
WS 6. Underground waters of southwestern Kansas, by Erasmus Haworth. 1897. 65 pp., 12 pis. 

(Out of .stock.) 
WS 7. Seepage waters of northern Utah, by Samuel Fortier. 1897. 50 pp., 3 pis. (Out of stock.) 
WS 12. Underground waters of southeastern Nebraska, by N. H. Darton. 1898. 56 pp., 21 pis. (Out 

of stock.) 
WS 21. Wells of northern Indiana, by Frank Leverett 1899. 82 pp., 2 pis. (Out of stock.) 
WS 26. Wells of southern Indiana (continuation of No. 21), by Frank Leverett. 1899. 64 pp. (Out 

of stock.) 
WS 30. Water resources of the lower peninsula of Michigan, by A. C. Lane. 1899. 97 pp., 7 pis. (Out 

of stock ) 
WS 31. Lower Michigan mineral waters, by A. C Lane. 1899. 97 pp., 4 pis. (Out of stock.) 
WS 34. Geology and water resources of a portion of southeastern South Dakota, by J. E. Todd. 1900. 

34 pp., 19 pis. 
WS 53. Geology and water resources of Nez Perces County, Idaho, Pt. I, by I. C. Russell. 1901. S6 

pp., 10 pis. (Out of stock.) 
WS 54. Geology and water resources of Nez Perces County, Idaho, Pt. II, by I. C. Russell. IWl. 

87-141 pp. (Out of stock.) 
WS 55. Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima County, Wash., by G. O. Smith. 1901. 

68 pp., 7 pis. (Out of stock.) 
WS 57. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, Pt. I, by N. H. Darton. 1902. 60 pp. 

(Out of stock ) 
WS 59. Development and application of water in .southern California, I*t. I, by J. B. Lippineott. 19(v: 

95 pp., 11 pis. (Out of stock.) 
WS 60. Development and application of water in southern (California. Pt. II, by J. B. Lippineott. 

1902. 96-140 pp. (Out of stock.) 
WS61. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States. Pt. II. by N. H. Darton. 1902. 67 pp. 

(Out of stock.) 
WS 67. The motions of underground waters, by C. S. Slichter. 1902. 106 pp., 8 pis. (Out of stock.) 
B 199. Geology and water resources of the Snake River Plains of Idaho, by I. C. Russell. 1902. 192 

pp., 25 pis. 
WS77. Water resources of Molokai, Hawaiian Islands, by Wahlemar Lindgren. 1903. 62 pp.. 4 pis. 
WS 78. Preliminnry report on artesian basin in .southwestern Idaho and .southeastern Oregon, by I. C. 

Russell. 1903. 53 pp., 2 pis. 



SERIES LIST. V 

PP 17. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of Nebraska west of the one hundred 

and third meridian, by N. H. Darton. 1903. 69 pp., 43 pis. 
WS 90. Geology and water resources of a part of the lower James River Valley, South Dakota, by 

J. E. Todd and C. M. Hall. 1904. 47 pp., 23 pis. 
WS 101. Underground waters of southern Louisiana, by G. D. Harris, with discussions of their uses for 

water supplies and for rice irrigation, by M. L. Fuller. 1904. 98 pp., 11 pis. 
VVS 102. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States, 1903, by M. L. Fuller. 1904. 522 pp. 
WS 104. Underground waters of Gila Valley, Arizona, by W. T. Lee. 1904. 71 pp., 5 pis. 
WS lOti Water resources of the Philadelphia district, by Florence Bascom. 1904. 75 pp., 4 pis. 
WS 110. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States, 1904; M. L. Fuller, geologist in 

charge. 1904. 211 pp., 5 pis. 
PP 32. Geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains, by N. H. Darton. 1904. 

433 pp., 72 pis. (Out of stock.) 
WS 111. Preliminary report on underground waters of Washington, by Henry Landes. 1904. 85 pp., 

ipl. 
WS 112. Underflow tests in the drainage basin of Los Angeles River, by Homer Hamlin. 1904. 

55 pp., 7 pis. 
WS 114. Underground waters of eastern United States; M. L. Fuller, geologist in charge. 1904. 

285 pp., 18 pis. 
WS 118. Geology and water resources of east-central Washington, by F. C. Calkins. 1905. 90 pp., 

4pls. 
B 252. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of central Oregon, by I. C. Russell. 

1905. 138 pp., 24 pis. 
WS 120. Bibliographic review and index of papers relating to underground waters, i)ublished by the 

United States Geological Survey, 1879-1904, by M. L. Fuller. 1905. 128 pp. 
WS 122. Relation of the law to underground waters, by D. W. Johnson. 1905. 55 pp. 
WS 123. Geology and underground water conditions of the Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico, by C. R. 

Keyes. 1905. 42 pp., 9 pis. 
WS 136. Underground waters of the Salt River Valley, by W. T. Lee. 1905. 194 pp., 24 pis. 
B 264. Record of deep-well drilling for 1904, by M. L. Fuller, E. F. Lines, and A. C. Veatch. 1905. 

106 pp. 
PP 44. Underground water resources of Long Island, New York, by A. C. Veatch and others. 1905. 

394 ip., 34 pis. 
WS 137. Development of underground waters in the eastern coastal plain region of southern California, 

by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 140 pp., 7 pis. 
WS 138. Development of underground waters in the central coastal plain region of southern California, 

by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 162 pp., 5 pis. 
WS 139. Development of underground waters in the western coastal plain region of southern California, 

by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 105 pp., 7 pis. 
WS 140. Field measurements of the rate of movement of underground waters, by C. S. Slichter. 1905. 

122 pp., 15 pis. 
WS 141. Observations on the ground waters of Rio Grande Valley, by C. S. Slichter. 1905. 83 pp., 

5 pis. 
WS 142. Hydrology of San Bernardino Valley, California,, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 124 pp., 13 pis. 
WS 145. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States; M. L. Fuller, geologist in charge. 

1905. 220 pp., 6 pis. 

WS 148. Geology and water resources of Oklahoma, by C. N. Gould. 1905. 178 pp., 22 pis. 

WS 149. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, second edition, with additions, by 

N. H. Darton. 1905. 175 pp. 
PP 40. Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas, by 

A. C. Veatch. 1906. 422 pp., 51 pis. 
WS 153. The underflow in Arkansas Valley in western Kansas, by C. S. Slichter. 1906. 90 pp., 3 pis. 
WS 154. The geology and water resources of the eastern portion of the Panhandle of Texas, by C. N. 

Gould. 1906. 64 pp., 15 pis. 
WS 155. Fluctuations of the water level in wells, with special reference to Long Island, New York, 

by A. C. Veatch. 1906. 83 pp., 9 pis. 
WS 157. Underground water in the valleys of Utah Lake and Jordan River, Utah, by G. B. Richardson. 

1906. 81 pp., 9 pis. 

WS 158. Preliminary report on the geology and underground waters of the Roswell artesian area, 

New Mexico, by C. A. Fisher. 1906. 29 pp., 9 pis. 
PP 52. Geology and underground waters of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado, by N. H. Darton. 

1906. 90 pp., 28 pis. 
WS 159. Summary of underground- water resources of Mississippi, by A. F. Crider and L. C. Johnson. 

1906. 86 pp., 6 pis. 
PP 53. Geology and water resources of the Bighorn basin, Wyoming, by C. A. Fisher. 1906. 72 pp., 

16 pis. 
WS 160. Underground-water papers, 1906, by M. L. Fuller. 1906. 104 pp., 1 pi. 

IRR 181—06 3 



VI SERIES LIST. 

WS 163. Bibliographic review and index of underground-water literature published in the United 

States in 1905, by M. L. Fuller, F. G. Clapp, and B. L. Johnson. 1906. 130 pp. 
WS 164. Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee River and of an adjacent 

area in Illinois, by L. C. Glenn. 1906. — pp., 7 pis. 
WS 181. Geology and water resources of Owens Valley, California, by Willis T. Lee. 1906. 28 pp., 
6 pis. 
The following papers also relate to this subject: Underground waters of Arkansas Valley in eastern 
Colorado, by G. K. Gilbert, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Preliminary report on artesian waters of a 
portion of the Dakotas, by N. H. Darton, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II. Water resources of Illinois, 
by Frank Leverett, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Water resources of Indiana and Ohio, by Frank 
Leverett, in Eighteenth Annual, Pt. IV; New developments in well boring and irrigation in eastern 
South Dakota, by N. H. Darton, in Eighteenth Annual, Pt. IV. Rock waters of Ohio, by Edward 
Orton, in Nineteenth Annual, Pt. IV; Artesian-well prospects in the Atlantic coastal plain region, by 
N. II. Darton, Bulletin No. 138. 

Correspondence should be addressed to 

The Director, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, D. C. 
September, 1906. 

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